


Stress and Strain

by kuroeko



Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven GO
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, afufubu is main ship, ever wanted to learn while reading fic? now u can, inago is only for epilogue, its engineering college, this fic can qualify as a 4 unit course with no prereqs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24897202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroeko/pseuds/kuroeko
Summary: Course 119 - Structural Design Capstone CourseSpring semester - Prof. Kira HitomikoMandatory group project. Optional romance.
Relationships: Afuro Terumi | Aphrodi/Fubuki Shirou, Endou Mamoru/Rococo Urupa
Comments: 45
Kudos: 32





	1. Week 1 - Syllabus Week

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [squigs ](https://twitter.com/squigdraws) for beta!  
> Thank you to [ Enkidudu ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enkidudu/profile) for beta and for listening to me as I wrote the fic. The encoco is for you.  
> Thank you to all my college friends who had to relive painful repressed memories whenever I asked a question about our wild past courses. 
> 
> This fic is dedicated to how much I hate group projects.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**  
>  Course objectives: To emulate a real-world design project from start to finish of the project lifecycle with close collaboration between civil engineers and architectural designers. 

_Group project._

The words stared up at him from the flimsy green syllabus paper branding into Fubuki’s deadpan eyes. His senior year, second semester, and here he was stuck in a capstone design course with a mandated group project. He had been hoping for an easy final semester, some time to finally catch up on his hobbies and enjoy himself before re-entering the workforce. Seeing these words, however, threw doubt into the viability of his previous daydreams, especially because he was unsure of whom to pair up with. 

Looking up around the silent classroom, he recognized roughly half the class by sight. The course was a unique one that had been introduced this year and shoehorned in at the last minute into the curriculum requirements, resulting in a lot of disgruntled senior year students like Fubuki himself making up half of the roster. The other half of the students were all strangers to him, mostly likely due to them being from a different major.

“Now listen here.” A strong, bold voice snapped his attention back to the speaker standing at the podium in front of some newly installed chalkboards. “My name is Kira Hitomiko, and I am an Associate Principal at Aliea Structural Design Firms. You may call me Hitomiko. I will be teaching this mixed capstone course between the civil engineering and architectural design students as its first ever instructor. As this is a new course, I anticipate some bumps throughout the semester, but the goal is to ensure that you all will leave with a semblance of a collaborative real-world design experience.”

No one in the class dared give off a single peep as she looked around the room. In the silence, Fubuki’s wandering gaze caught on the long golden hair of an architectural student (he assumes, simply because he doesn’t recognize him, which was indicator enough) sitting to the side in the middle row. Whoever this person was, they had very expensive clothing taste, emphasized by the subtlely branded… _everything_ that they - he? she? Fubuki couldn’t really tell, but decided it was safer not to simply assume and was probably besides the point - wore. The student seemed bored, toying with their hair absentmindedly while watching Hitomiko continue speaking. 

_Seems like a rich international student, the type to not to pull any weight in a group project,_ Fubuki assessed as he moved his attention to judge the rest of the students. _Wouldn’t pick them as a partner if my life depended on it._ He continued trying to figure out who looked the most worthy of being entrusted with his grade and the fate of his graduation, but his judging session was rudely interrupted by Hitomiko’s comment as she reviewed the syllabus. 

“For the group project, you will be assigned into groups-”

Groans and protests erupted from the previously silent class. 

“-of TWO. One civil major and one architectural major,” she finished forcefully. “No, I will not be taking requests, and I will not be allowing ANY group changes. This is a simulation of the real world where you cannot choose who you work with.” 

Fubuki was so shocked his hand had flown out and knocked his pencil case over, almost all the way onto the ground. Hastily putting the spilled stationary back into its pouch, he ran the previously spoken words through his head, unable to believe what he had just heard. _Forced groups?! With who?!_ He didn’t know any of the architectural students and, honestly, they all seemed unreliable. He already hated relying on others for anything, and to be unable to even choose who to work with was pure torture. 

“Says who?” muttered an annoyed-looking student sitting in the back, whose tufted red hair looked copiously styled by either the bed or an inappropriate amount of hair gel. _Looks like a tulip_ , Fubuki thought with mild amusement as he glanced back at the speaker.

Hitomiko’s glare was enough to make the student stop leaning his chair back and sit properly. 

“Says me,” she replied crisply. “And I will be posting group assignments right before next week’s class. Please be advised to update all of your personal contact information to make sure that you receive the email I will be sending out shortly afterwards. This is to ensure you and your project partner will be able to stay in touch outside of class.” With that final word on their group project (read: death sentence), she launched into a brief description of the important points of the course, along with what components the final project was to consist of. Fubuki skipped ahead and read the end of the syllabus as she went over the grading system. Since this had been a required course, he hadn’t bothered to check anything before signing up, but now he was feeling quite a bit of regret at not doing so. 

_Design a mixed-use small apartment complex,_ read the first line. 

He read it again. 

_Design a whole apartment complex?! Complete with a shopping level down below?!_ This was a task for a whole company, not a two-person group, let alone a group consisting of people who didn’t know the first thing about each other. 

“You will be led up to the final capstone project through simplified assignments throughout the semester that are assigned each week,” Hitomiko once again interjected Fubuki’s distressed thoughts. “There are many parts of the building design process that will be left out since they are outside the scope of this course, but they will be touched upon so you will at least understand the importance of them. The footprint of the building is approximately 800 square feet, And it should be three stories high.” 

_This is too much information at once, 800 square feet?! That’s tiny!_ Fubuki hastily scribbled down notes to cover what she had just said. The rest of the class passed in a blur as information was essentially barked out nonstop, and he had to push down a rising sense of panic as he processed everything. By the time the clock hit the end of the three hours he felt like he had actually aged a whole five years. 

Staggering out of his chair, he crammed all his notes into his well-used backpack and did a cursory look around the room to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. His eyes caught once again on the rich-looking international (he thinks) student who simply bent down to pick up their sleek black leather crossbody bag and slung it over their shoulder before walking out of the room without a second glance. _They didn’t even take any notes!_ Fubuki was shocked by the sheer audacity of this student. _I really hope I don’t get paired with them…_

His worries jumbled together with all the information he had just been subjected to, he hastily headed out the door to get his bike, already running the risk of being late to his next class due to the size of the campus. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's come to my attention that Capstone courses aren't a widely known thing so here's a Wikipedia link: [Capstone Course](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capstone_course)  
> If you're too lazy to click it's just like a final huge project course for a major, typically taken senior year.


	2. Week 2 - HW 1: Conceptual Design

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Design team formations are to be posted before class this week. No changes will be made to the teams posted.  
> Assignment: Conceptual design draft due next week. 

“Fubuki!” The sudden voice calling out from behind him caused him to almost drop his bike lock. He stood up from where he had been locking his bike to see a certain familiar orange-banded face striding over and waving.

“Ah, Endou. How are you?” Fubuki smiled at his friend and fellow soldier in the capstone class from hell who practically beamed back at him with a large grin while quickly giving him a onceover to assess how the first few days had treated him. Endou’s bag was overflowing with papers already, not a chance left for any paperwork to be turned in wrinkle-free, if they’d make it back to the turn-in box at all. Every semester Endou would try a new organization method, and every semester it would be defeated by week two. 

“Have you seen the group assignments yet? Hitomiko said she’d upload them before the class, but I haven’t seen an email,” Endou asked as he shoved yet another stray paper he was holding into the place where lost things go known as his bag. 

“No, I haven’t. We have an hour to go but I hope she sends them out soon. She’s cutting it sort of close.” Fubuki’s heart had an uneasy feeling turning within it. He had spent the whole week worrying about who he would be paired up with in the class. _You just need to graduate_ , he told himself sternly, _just grit your teeth and make it through._

Endou saw the worry in Fubuki’s eyes and gave him a strong pat on the back. “Don’t worry about it, Fubuki,” he encouraged. “You’ll be fine; everyone here has plenty of experience since they’re all senior students! And anyways it seems fun to be able to face such a challenge.” Endou tried his best to cheer Fubuki up, knowing that his friend often was full of worries that were unable to be voiced. 

“Ah, thanks.” _Of course Endou would see things this way,_ Fubuki thought wryly. _Always the optimist._ His thoughts were interrupted by a buzz from his phone. Pulling it out from his pocket, his heart stuttered painfully over a couple beats at the subject line:

[Course 119: Group assignments]

He tapped it open, hands suddenly feeling clammy and shaky. Endou, seeing no need to check his own phone which was probably somewhere at the bottom of the sea in his bag anyway, leaned over his shoulder to read as he opened up the PDF attachment. Scanning it quickly for his name, Fubuki found it just as Endou found his own, too. 

“Terumi Afuro…preferred name is Aphrodi,” Fubuki read out loud.

“Rococo Urupa!” Endou gleefully cried out his own partner’s name. 

“We don’t know any of these architectural students,” Fubuki sighed, not sharing any of his friend’s excitement. Aphrodi…the name sounded foreign. He was trying to figure out which one it might be from his memory of his brief scan of the class when he saw that Endou had his own phone out (from his pocket, apparently, and not his bag) and was furiously typing away on it.

“What are you doing?”

“Texting Kazemaru, he’s my friend in architecture who’s also in the class. He’ll be able to tell us who is who! See him on the list? Seems like he got lucky and got paired with Kidou,” Endou replied.

“Yeah, Kidou’s a reliable partner. But you can just check their online profiles, right?” Fubuki regarded their classmate Kidou as a walking encyclopedia. The son of a construction company head, he always knew what he was talking about. 

“Fubuki, you don’t even have a Facebook. You can’t say that. Speaking of which, why don’t you just make one already?” Endou replied without looking up from the screen. 

“...Fine, you’re right, this might be better as Kazemaru might know something about their work ethic.” Fubuki conceded, evading the question about his social media life decisions, then peeked over at Endou’s screen this time.

* * *

Endou: KAZEEEEEE do u kno rococo Urupa or terumi APHRODITE 

Kazemaru: Do you mean Aphrodi, and yes.

Endou: YAAAA

Kazemaru: Why?

Endou: Project partner!!!!

Kazemaru: Oh, I see. They’re both international students. I think Rococo is from some South African country and Aphrodi is from Korea. 

Kazemaru: (...)

* * *

Fubuki, rudely, groaned out loud as he read the last line. _No….it can’t be._ He looked back down at the screen where Kazemaru had finished sending his texts. 

* * *

Kazemaru: Aphrodi’s the one with the really long blonde hair. Rococo has spiky blue hair, bit dark skin. Neither of them are short-term exchange students so they know how the system works here. 

Kazemaru: See you in class, don’t be late.

* * *

“Ah, he’s probably heading out now and can’t text anymore,” Endou concluded as he pocketed his phone. Looking up at Fubuki, he jolted at the pale expression on the already pale boy’s face. “Hey, you alright?”

“Ah… I don’t know about that,” Fubuki answered weakly as he clutched his stomach. He was suddenly feeling queasy. “I’m going to go get a small bite to eat before class starts. I’ll see you there.” With that said, he quickly spun around and headed towards the campus coffee shop. _Maybe I’ll feel better after an overpriced cookie,_ he thought to himself. Either way, he was about to be in for a hell of a semester, so he could treat himself just a little bit…

\---

“For this week, we will be focusing on what type of building design your team will work on. Think of it as a conceptual sketching ground.” Hitomiko voice rang out just as clear and foreboding as it had been just a week prior to the sulking classroom. The displeasure from both majors was palpable in the air, but she simply ignored it, uncaring. “For the first hour we will go over possible concepts and how to present your rough designs by the next week. Those designs, by the way, will be your first homework assignment. I do not accept late work.” 

The next hour passed in another blur of information as Hitomiko showcased an endless queue of tiny home designs while explaining how to account for building vertical instead of horizontal. Apparently the ground floor could be anything from a cafe to a questionable witchcraft store selling radioactive pieces of space rock, as long as it was not a residential space like the other two floors. 

Throughout the lecture, Fubuki kept sneaking glances at a certain distinctive student slouched in his seat on the other side of the classroom. Aphrodi, as the mystery diva was apparently called, looked bored out of his mind but seemed to also, at least, be paying attention to the topic being presented. At least Fubuki hopes. This time he had a pen out but no paper, which made absolutely zero sense 

Too focused on trying to puzzle out why, Fubuki was caught off guard when Aphrodi suddenly turned his head, making direct eye contact with him. Crimson red eyes flashed with the reflection of the white ceiling lights. Then Aphrodi slyly, smirking, gave him a little wink and turned back to watch Hitomiko again. 

He felt heat rise to his face. Aphrodi’s bold move had thrown him off-kilter. He found himself unable to fully focus on the lecture after that. Unable to erase that memory from his mind. The end of the lecture couldn’t come soon enough, although once it did come, it wasn’t even the end of the _class_ and Fubuki found himself regretting urging its arrival wholeheartedly.

“Alright everyone,” started the teacher’s next torment, “get up, find your partners and introduce yourselves. For the next two hours, you are given time to work on the project. Any work unfinished within this time will have to be worked on outside of class together.” She then motioned for them to get up and move about to find their new partners. “If you have any questions, you can come up and ask me,” she added, remembering to be somewhat merciful. 

Fubuki, having already resigned to a fate of being the one who would end up doing everything, including taking the initial step to speak with his partner, began to pack up his belongings to move over to where Aphrodi had been sitting. Although before he could even finish zipping up his pencil case, someone had pulled over a chair and sat down across from him. Looking up, he found himself meeting the level gaze of the blonde international student that had caught his attention last week and proceeded to fill him with dread since earlier this morning. Aphrodi was, at a close distance, slightly taller than him, so Fubuki had to look upwards a bit even though they were both sitting down. 

“You’re Fubuki Shirou, correct?” the man asked, tilting his head to the side and resting it on his hand. His long golden hair cascaded nicely to the side, catching on the collar of his leather jacket. 

“Yes...and you’re Aphrodi?” Fubuki answered cautiously. He was still holding out hope that there might be another blonde long-haired international student here. Maybe wearing a hat or something. 

“Mhm,” Aphrodi responded, crushing Fubuki’s hopes of having a decent team with one lazy syllable. 

_Cute_ , Aphrodi thought, noting Fubuki’s dejected face. Most people fell head over heels at his feet, trying to work with him just because he was good-looking. Hearing that the groups were mandatory had been relieving, as he wouldn’t have to try to pick the least disastrous person out of the groups that usually accosted him. He was tired of picking someone and having to deal with fending off stalkers and retrieving group members after other groupies picked them off. Working with someone who had no interest in him might prove very productive. 

“Well,” he prompted as Fubuki remained silent. “I suppose we can start with exchanging Facebook information.”

“Ah, I don’t have one.” Fubuki replied wearily, already expecting the response of dismay. Aphrodi didn’t skip a beat.

“That’s alright,” he replied smoothly. “What about text or email?” 

The lack of an exaggerated reaction caught Fubuki off guard. “Oh...yes, here, I’ll write it down.” He took out a small notepad that had snowflake borders on it. Aphrodi looked curiously at the surprisingly cute notepad juxtaposed with Fubuki’s rough handwriting. 

“Are you good with texting directly? Email is so formal,” he asked as he entered the information into his phone. 

“That’s fine,” Fubuki replied, noting that Aphrodi’s phone was the newest model. With no phone case. Bold move. 

“Sounds good,” Aphrodi said with a smile as he sent a text so Fubuki could have his information, too. Fubuki looked down as his phone buzzed.

* * *

Unknown: ヾ(☆▽☆) it’s Aphrodi!!!

* * *

He slowly looked back up to see that Aphrodi was smiling at him, expecting a reaction. 

“...let’s get started on the homework, I don’t want to spend time outside of class doing it when it’s only week two,” he said as he flipped his phone screen face-down, not about to get caught up in whatever not-serious games this devil was probably planning to trick him into. He missed Aphrodi’s look of amusement as he reached over to pick up the assignment sheet and read what it entailed. 

“I guess the most important portion is deciding what will be on the ground floor. Do you have any preference? It says here it just has to be a storefront of some type,” he noted as he circled the bullet point in question. Aphrodi turned his head to read it from across the table, furrowing his brows a bit in concentration. His lack of suggestions as he looked at it caused Fubuki to start throwing out ideas as the clock was ticking.

“A bakery? Maybe a cafe?” he prompted, figuring that seemed simple enough.

“Absolutely not. I refuse to design a kitchen,” came the immediate reply from Aphrodi who was still staring at the sheet. He was currently trying to think of the easiest store he could feasibly design. Anything with minimal plumbing was a good option. “If I have to design a store, I’d say a bookstore.”

“What, why?” 

“Less safety codes I have to follow. Have YOU designed something to be food safe before?” Aphrodi challenged. He had, and it sucked. He never wanted to read those design codes again. 

“Alright, alright,” Fubuki said, hurriedly backing down, “I was just wondering since it seems sort of random. But if it makes things easier for you then that’s fine. Whatever gets the project done fastest.”

“I like that sort of attitude,” Aphrodi replied with a lazy smile. He watched as Fubuki pulled out a pad of engineering paper then ripped off a few top pages and handed it to him. 

“Here,” Fubuki said as he waved them at him. “You can start drawing out the conceptual design.” Aphrodi sat back in surprise at the direct order. 

“Of what? The building?! Right now?! I don’t even have half my supplies on me!” He wouldn’t be able to present a proper rendering this way, maybe a quick sketch at most. 

“Well you have the other half, then. And I have some highlighters and pens, so let’s get to it.” The steely look in Fubuki’s teal eyes conveyed that refusal was not an option. He probably wasn’t aware at how similar he was acting to their professor in this moment. Aphrodi weakly took the papers and set them down as Fubuki dumped open his pencil case next to him. Starting to sketch away at the beginnings of an idea, he focused on at least working with the materials on hand. Fubuki watched as he drew his long golden hair behind his ear and pulled aside the ruler from the pile of stationary he had dumped out. Crisp lines formed on the paper, pulling together to create a generic little shop front. Aphrodi’s lithe fingers quickly added little details that hinted towards a bookstore within. 

Fubuki found himself holding his breath as a small three-story building appeared on paper before his eyes. Never having been artistic himself, he was fascinated by how quickly Aphrodi could render dreams to reality. 

“Now your turn,” Aphrodi sat back and pushed the paper towards Fubuki. “You can label out the rough dimensions.” 

“Oh...maybe we should’ve done that before you went all over the gridlines.” Fubuki halfheartedly noted as he looked at the mismatched heights.

“It’s fine, it’s conceptual.” Aphrodi flippantly replied. “You should hurry if you want this done before class ends. I still have to sketch out the interior plan views.” Spurred into action, Fubuki took out a ruler and began drawing dimensions along the sides of the building. Heights and widths that matched up with the design specifications were added on, bringing the building further into reality. The two of them worked mostly in silence as they completed the assignment, only speaking if one needed to point out a detail the other had missed. They narrowly managed to finish by the time four o’clock rolled around, signalling the end of class. Carefully putting the assignment in his folder, Fubuki began packing up. 

“You’ll take care of the assignment and turn it in before class next week?” He looked up at the speaker to see that Aphrodi was still standing there, waiting next to the desk.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it.” Fubuki nodded and slung his bag onto his back. If he didn’t leave now he’d have to bike faster than he was comfortable with. _Curse large campuses._

“Thank you, text me if anything comes up,” Aphrodi called out to him as he watched Fubuki’s rapidly receding back. Receiving no reply, he smiled as he checked his phone, ignoring the dozens of Facebook messages crowding his notifications. Typing quickly, he sent a quick text over to Fubuki then headed off to return to his apartment. 

* * *

Aphrodi (Course 119): See you~

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Course number 119 is made up of their Raimon jersey numbers, Aphrodi’s (11) and Fubuki’s (9). Probably better than course number 911 but this class is about to make them call 911. 
> 
> Building vertical means going upwards in the building construction phase, often used as a term to mark how far along building construction is. Going vertical is usually a good sign in a project lifecycle.


	3. Week 3 - HW2: Plan & Elevation Layouts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Assignment: Hand drawn plan and elevation layouts of the building design due next week. Must be on 11x17 paper and to scale. 

Fubuki flipped through the conceptual design sheets one last time, then checked that both his and Aphrodi’s names were written on top. After snapping a picture of the homework as reference before he had to turn it in, he pocketed his phone and looked up to see Endou walking over with a person he hadn’t seen before. Taller than Endou with blue tufted hair and dark skin, the boy was dressed nicely in a maroon wool coat and a black turtleneck.  _ Sort of overdressed, isn’t he _ , Fubuki wondered. It was never cold enough here to really bother him, but he remembered that this might be the international student from South Africa. Endou seemed to be excitedly discussing something with Rococo and Fubuki decided to leave them to it. He headed into the classroom after giving them a cursory wave and dropped the assignment into the homework bin at the front of the room. 

Taking a seat, he checked his phone which had been mostly silent since last week. In the process of putting it back down, it suddenly buzzed to life in his hands.

* * *

Aphrodi (Course 119): Save me a seat

Aphrodi (Course 119): PLEASE

Aphrodi (Course 119): (ﾟДﾟ;)

* * *

Fubuki stared at the screen for a moment, then sighed and picked up his backpack from the floor and placed it on the chair next to him. As seats filled up around him, he had to shoo away a few classmates. Seats hadn’t been established yet so finding a chair was still a game of musical chairs. Glancing at the clock, he realized it was 2 minutes before class started and that was after the 15 minute class-changing interval, too. Fubuki had been thinking that Aphrodi was more reliable than he had thought after the brief exercise last week, but now he was starting to reconsider his improved impression. While he was lost in thought, Hitomiko entered the room. Before the door could fully close, a harried looking Aphrodi dashed in after her. Nodding politely to the professor, Aphrodi glanced around the room then made a beeline to where Fubuki was sitting.

“Thank you,” Aphrodi whispered as he lifted off Fubuki’s backpack from the chair and slid into the seat. Fubuki waved his hand at him to stop him from saying anything else as Hitomiko was staring directly at them. Aphrodi got the hint and quietly took out both a pen and notepad this time.  _ Improvement, _ Fubuki thought wryly. 

“Today’s lecture will leave one hour at the end for you all to get a head start on the assignment this week.” Hitomiko stated to the class, “we will be reviewing proper design notation today and what is important to detail in plan and elevation view drawings.” The shuffling sound of notes and papers began as the lecture continued. By the time the lecture portion was done, Fubuki’s hand was cramped from all the notes he had taken. He glanced over at Aphrodi who hadn’t bothered him at all this time only to find that he had only written down the date. Incredulous, Fubuki looked up at Aphrodi who was gazing impassively at the presentation screen. 

“Alright, group work time!” Desks were moved and bags were shuffled as group partners found each other once again. Aphrodi turned his chair around so he was now perpendicular to Fubuki. 

“Sorry about earlier, traffic was worse than I thought due to a nearby parade. Thank you again for saving me a seat.” He brushed aside his mussed hair, then pulled out a can of Red Bull. 

“It’s fine,” Fubuki replied, even though it was very _ not _ fine. He noticed Aphrodi’s bag seemed to be bulkier than the last few times. Aphrodi followed his line of sight and smiled. 

“I brought some more prudent supplies this time, especially useful since we have to design proper plans by hand today,” he explained. Popping open the can of Red Bull, he casually downed it then began unpacking his bag. 

“Did you just chug that entire can at once?” Fubuki asked in disbelief.

“Mmm yeah I guess, it is empty now.” Aphrodi replied as he began to pull out compasses, curves, rulers, and most importantly, an architectural template. “Can you get a sheet of the 11x17 drafting paper? We’re going to need a bigger size this time per the assignment.” Fubuki decided not to press the matter and got up to go retrieve a few sheets. Returning to the table, he found a second can of Red Bull had appeared, although not open yet. 

“I was organizing my bag,” Aphrodi explained when he saw Fubuki’s raised eyebrows. “It’s not empty. Yet.” He reached out and took the sheets then laid them flat on the desk. Picking up a pencil, he began to smooth out the surface before suddenly looking up at Fubuki.  


“Ah, shoot. We don’t have our old sketches.”

“I took a photo before I turned it in,” Fubuki offered up his phone then looked at what the rest of the groups were doing. Some of them had taken a photo beforehand while others had to go ask Hitomiko for the assignments back. Based on the look on their professor's face, Fubuki was glad he had taken a photo. “She’ll probably tell everyone to take a photo next year seeing how annoyed she looks right now,” he remarked.

“You really are a lifesaver,” Aphrodi explained as he took the proffered phone. Placing it carefully on the side, he began to measure out the dimensions properly this time before starting. Fubuki began to more deeply review the design specifications in the thick packet that had been handed out last week. 

“We might have to make some changes, since we didn’t stick strictly to spec during the conceptual phase.” Fubuki noted as he began highlighting certain lines in the packet. 

“That’s fine, I’m using a pencil.” Aphrodi replied. He kept lifting his hand to push some stray strands of hair out of his face, only for them to fall back down again. Seeing how concentrated he was, however, caused Fubuki to not comment on it. He watched as Aphrodi’s steady hands sketched line after line, slowly forming a proper elevation view again. 

“Ah over here, we have to get rid of the two windows and leave one larger one with a fire escape.” Fubuki leaned over and pointed at the space where Aphrodi had almost started fleshing out the windows. 

“Fire escape?! Man, just use the stairs,” Aphrodi grumbled as he fetched the ruler. 

“It’s code mandated, even if they’re hard to install.” Fubuki replied as he kept flipping through the packet. Aphrodi paused what he was doing and looked up curiously.

“Install? You’ve installed these before?” Aphrodi asked.

Fubuki hesitated, then replied slowly, “I worked in construction before entering this university. To make money for tuition.” He braced himself for the slew of questions that always came with this small reveal of his past.

“Wow that’s pretty impressive,” Aphrodi noted as he went back to drawing. “So does that mean you’re older, then?”

“Huh? Oh, well yes, I worked for 3 years.” Fubuki was starting to wonder if anything was unusual to Aphrodi. He took everything so well. 

“Interesting, that means we’re the same age.” Aphrodi’s lines continued flying onto the paper at a ferocious pace. He seemed intent on finishing within the hour.

“What, how?” Fubuki had thought that Aphrodi would be the type to directly enter university from whatever pampered school he had gone to. 

“International transfers are different and I traveled a bit growing up so I had to repeat some schooling.” Aphrodi replied evenly, “So even though I didn’t work in the middle, I’m still 3 years older than the rest, too.”

“Oh, I see. Wait a moment we also need to change the roof style-” Irritated crimson red eyes flashed up to glare at him for a moment. 

“Tell me these things before I render the entire roof.” Aphrodi muttered as he grabbed the eraser. Fubuki glanced at the clock: 3:45 PM. They weren’t going to make it. 

“If you’re worried about time, I can finish this assignment as long as you let me know what to change right now.” Aphrodi spoke without looking up from the sheet.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to saddle you with all the work,” Fubuki replied, stressed that he wasn’t able to be more helpful at the moment.

“You’re working by telling me what to change, now write it down. You have another class after this one so you have to leave on the dot, right?” Aphrodi pushed over the notebook that he had only written a date on then went back to drawing. Fubuki quickly transferred over all the notes, detailing which parts to be changed and how, before neatly pushing it back to Aphrodi. 

“Sorry about this, let me know if you want to meet up to finish it later,” he began packing up his materials and then remembered something important. “Oh right. Let me send you the conceptual homework photos so you have a reference.” 

“Ah, thanks, I forgot I was using your phone.” Aphrodi sat back and smiled at Fubuki, handing him back his phone. Always that same smile that didn’t mirror the emotions in his eyes. Fubuki was beginning to think that there was more to Aphrodi than the pretty-boy persona he let on. Fubuki tapped through the phone quickly then sent the photos over via text.

“Sent, let me know, alright?” Fubuki was still a bit worried about Aphrodi’s reliability.

“Yes yes, now hurry along.” Aphrodi waved his hand at Fubuki as the clock hit 4 again. Fubuki nodded in thanks, then slung his backpack over his shoulder and beelined out of the room. Aphrodi stretched then collected all his supplies and began methodically placing them back into his bag.  _ I’ll finish the rest tonight after a short nap _ , he decided as he carefully rolled up the unfinished plans and tucked away Fubuki’s note. Strolling out of the room and covering up a yawn, he popped open the second can of Red Bull to get him through until then. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would've used God Bull but it just doesn't encompass the same feeling of rescuing oneself from self-induced sleep deprivation as Red Bull does.


	4. Week 4 - HW3: Structural Design & Materials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Assignment:  
> Civil: Structural design, Force calculations (Vertical and Lateral loads)  
> Architectural: Material choices, Facade design.  
> Assignment package due next week. PDF emailed is acceptable. 

Aphrodi was lounging outside of the classroom as he flipped through photos to edit for his Instagram. He usually didn’t like waiting near classrooms, preferring to sit alone in his car to get some peace and quiet. Today was different as he felt bad about almost being late last week, so he had made an effort to arrive early and wait outside. Hurried footsteps caused him to look up from his phone to see Fubuki practically power walking towards him. 

“Hi Fubuki!” he called out, happily waving his hand, only for Fubuki to come close and pull the finished plans from his bag without a single word of greeting. 

“I realized we forgot a spec. It’s a quick fix, let me just do it right now.” Fubuki explained as he knelt down on the floor and rolled out the plans. Scrambling, Aphrodi retrieved a pencil and eraser and also got down on the floor after some hesitation. _My new pants_ , he sadly thought as his knees touched the wood flooring. Handing over the stationary items, he watched as Fubuki took out the front entryway and built in some stairs with a few crude lines.

“The site location is prone to rains, we had to move it up to prevent flooding and retain drainage. I forgot about that until I re-checked the specs just now.” Fubuki rolled the papers up then handed the pencil and eraser back. “Sorry about that, it’s been a busy week. I should’ve caught it earlier.” Aphrodi noticed that Fubuki had started to develop dark circles under his eyes. He wondered what the engineering course load was like. From what he had seen through the years in passing it definitely seemed brutal. This observation was punctuated by the fact that Fubuki’s wardrobe seemed to repeat through the same sad set of clothes every two weeks. 

“Don’t worry about it, at least you caught it before we turned it in,” Aphrodi easily replied, “Although this class might be harder on _you_ today. It’s mainly on the structural design aspect of the building which Hitomiko works in. I get to focus on materials and facade choice that’s shafted near the end of the lecture. How fun.” Fubuki’s weary look at this news caused him to have to suppress a laugh. He was beginning to like seeing the unexpected reactions on his group partner’s face. Reaching over, he brushed a leaf off of Fubuki’s hair causing the receiver to flinch in surprise. 

“Do you bike everywhere?” Aphrodi asked curiously. It was hard with how the weather was around here: constantly changing with high winds and oftentimes rain.

“I don’t really have a choice, the campus is too big.” Fubuki replied, turning his face to hide an unexpected blush. He hadn’t had close human contact in...a long time. This sudden touch had thrown his heart into disarray. 

Aphrodi thought back to his first few years where he had just run around and narrowly managed to avoid being late too many times in one course by strategically leaving other classes early. 

“Do you not bike? Most students bike around here,” Fubuki managed to ask after gathering himself from the earlier surprise. 

“I…” Aphrodi hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. “I don’t know how to bike. I have a car now so I just drive it, but I also have a lot of time between classes nowadays so I don’t have to worry about being late.” Aphrodi nervously reached up to his neck and brushed aside his hair. He never really told anyone this, because it was embarrassing to admit at his age. 

“Oh. Well, everyone has their own reasons,” Fubuki offered up a weak explanation upon seeing Aphrodi suddenly become quieter. He felt bad bringing it up now, not knowing if it was something in Aphrodi’s past. “But if you’re not scared of biking, I’m sure someone can teach you it fairly quickly. It’s not too difficult…” 

“Maybe you can teach me,” Aphrodi teased as he looked back at him with a smile.

“I suppose…” Fubuki responded, taking this as a serious suggestion instead of a passing remark. “If we do find some time, we could try it out in an empty lot.” It was now Aphrodi’s turn to be surprised, not having expected Fubuki to take this seriously. Feeling shy at how sincere Fubuki was, Aphrodi made to respond when some other classmates suddenly rounded the corner. The sudden influx of chatter caused the two of them to look over to see what the commotion was about. Endou, Rococo, Kidou, and Kazemaru had all inadvertently met up while walking to class and were using this time to discuss ideas for the project. Seeing Aphrodi and Fubuki already waiting outside the classroom, they congregated together to gripe over the class. 

“Aphrodi! Fubuki!” Endou’s voice boomed out at them even though they were all standing close together in the hallway. “I don’t know if you’ve met these people yet but this is my partner, Rococo, architecture.” He gestured to the taller dark-skinned youth standing next to him who inclined his head in greeting. “Kazemaru, architecture,” an anxious looking boy whose blue bangs seemed to have escaped his long ponytail and covered one eye who gave a hesitant smile when greeted. “And his group partner, Kidou, civil,” Endou finished as he patted the back of the goggles-wearing boy with dreadlocks, who nodded in acknowledgement. Kidou had a habit of wearing capes to school, but no one questioned it because he was always willing to share his homework answers. 

Aphrodi and Fubuki warmly greeted the group, and after some prompting from Endou, they all exchanged contact information. Before much more conversation could be had, the door swung open and the previous class let out. 

“Since you’re here this time, let’s go find some seats,” Fubuki remarked to Aphrodi as they picked up their bags and papers to migrate into the room. He noticed that Rococo was picking up some papers on the side that didn’t seem to belong to this class. Fubuki watched as he tapped Endou’s shoulder and handed them over as they walked into the classroom. _At least Endou has someone to take care of him this semester, seems like he got a reliable partner,_ Fubuki thought. The class quickly settled in, and Hitomiko set up her presentation and began going over the topics for the day. As more information was being disseminated this time, there was no time during class to work on the project. This was to be expected but Fubuki still felt a hint of dismay. He already had a lot of work to do for other courses. To fit in a project outside of that time would cut into his already minimal amount of sleep. 

Aphrodi was actually taking notes today but only on the architectural portions of the course. A can of Red Bull was open on the side and already empty and Fubuki had a feeling that that can wasn’t the first one of the day. The three hours flew by and before he knew it he was packing up again to leave. 

“I’ll text you after my next class ends,” Fubuki informed Aphrodi as he zipped up his backpack, “But I think this will take up one of our weekends.” 

“Fine by me,” Aphrodi replied as he picked up his phone, “I’m quite free this weekend, provided it’s to learn how to bike.” Flustered, Fubuki decided his best option was to walk away. 

“We’ll discuss this later,” he called out as he headed off towards his next class. Aphrodi smiled then looked back down at his phone to check which of his weekend plans he would be cancelling in order to make time for Fubuki. 

\---

The sun had set enough to directly beam into Aphrodi’s eyes as he drove back to the apartment after finishing the day at school. After parking carefully in his assigned spot and exiting the car, he checked his phone and saw the text he had been waiting for. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he read the heavily anticipated text while locking his car and walking upstairs to his apartment. 

* * *

Fubuki: I’m available this Saturday between 2:15 and 5 PM

* * *

Aphrodi stared at the message in confusion as he fumbled to open his apartment door. _Why the 15…_ dumping his bag on the floor, he sat down to reply to the text. 

* * *

Aphrodi (Course 119): (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

Aphrodi (Course 119): Sureeee

Aphrodi (Course 119): Where?

* * *

Fubuki grimaced at the influx of texts. He wished Aphrodi would learn how to condense them instead of sending one per word. 

* * *

Fubuki: Engineering library?

Aphrodi (Course 119): OKKKKK

Aphrodi (Course 119): Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

* * *

Smiling to himself, Aphrodi went to the appropriate group chat and canceled the meet and greet he had been roped into that day. Putting down his phone, he went to his wardrobe while humming to himself to pick out what he would wear on Saturday for biking.

\---

The engineering library was already crowded by the time Fubuki arrived, breathless from biking up the steep hill. Aphrodi had texted him that he was already inside and had secured a spot for the two of them. Weaving through the library entrance after depositing his bike, he flashed his ID card then looked around the bottom floor to try to spot the distinctive crown of gold hair. Instead of finding him by sight, however, he ended up hearing Aphrodi’s voice first.

“--ah I’m sorry, this spot is taken, I’m waiting for my project partner.” Fubuki rounded the corner to see a stressed but still smiling Aphrodi trying to dissuade a veritable gaggle of girls from trying to take the empty seat at the small table he was perched at. 

“Aphrodi.” Fubuki called out, seeing that Aphrodi was frazzled from defending his space.

“Fubuki!” Aphrodi’s eyes opened wide and his smile turned genuine when he caught sight of his now-favorite engineering friend. “My partner is here and we have to work on our project now, I’m sorry.” He directed this to the disappointed group of girls. Walking away, a few of them glared daggers at Fubuki. Aphrodi slumped back into his chair, tired from all the interaction. 

“Must be hard to be good-looking and popular,” Fubuki joked as he shed his coat, slinging it over the back of the chair. He looked up just in time to catch the bitter look that flashed in Aphrodi’s eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came. 

“It’s always like this,” Aphrodi replied softly, “I don’t often work in libraries because of this problem. I can never focus when people keep trying to talk to me.” He lifted up a hand and ran it through his bangs in frustration while Fubuki watched. 

“I didn’t think about that, sorry…” Fubuki apologized, feeling bad that he had put Aphrodi through something he tried to avoid.

“It’s alright, I didn’t say anything since I thought it would be OK here. I’ve never worked in the engineering library before.” Aphrodi’s gaze had now turned gentle as he watched Fubuki from across the table. “Well since we only have three hours, why don’t we get started on each of our parts?” 

“Sounds good,” Fubuki pulled out his laptop and placed it carefully on the table while Aphrodi watched in amazement.

“Is that your laptop? Or is that a brick?” Aphrodi hadn’t ever seen a laptop this thick. He was now wondering how strong Fubuki’s shoulders were.

“It was on sale and has enough power to run the programs I use,” Fubuki replied with a sigh. “It’s my final semester so as long as it holds out until then, I’ll be fine.” Aphrodi’s hand reached over and traced the laptop, giving out a low whistle as he did so. His action was interrupted by Fubuki slapping his hand lightly and shooing him back. Nursing his smarting hand, Aphrodi shot Fubuki an upset glance but let it be when Fubuki steadfastly ignored him. He pulled out his own sleek laptop and opened it to retrieve the assignment paper that had been sandwiched within. Re-reading it, he checked the parts that he was supposed to take care of. 

“Fubuki, you’ll be working on….uh...structural design...vertical and lateral force... layout?” Aphrodi read off the paper, confused.

“Force-resisting layout, yes. I’ll be working on designing the structural component of the building for now.” 

“Did she even cover that in class?”

“Yes, you were just busy opening a can of Red Bull.”

“Was not.”

“Mmmm.” Fubuki let slip a rare smile that made Aphrodi end up smiling back in return. 

“Well I’ll be taking care of material choices,” he finished as he traced a finger along the instructions. Figuring out what the building would be built out of would be the first step of the process. Turning his laptop on, he thought about what would look best with a bookstore. 

“What about wood? Timber building?” Aphrodi asked out loud. Fubuki looked up at him with annoyance as he had been trying to revive his computer from sleep. The boot-up noises were slightly alarming. 

“Do you mean a full timber building? All three floors?” Fubuki clarified the question. 

“Yes, how else would you do it?” Aphrodi had been dreaming of an airy wooden-paneled bookstore with nice open windows out front. Maybe even some window box planters with flowers in them. 

“Well I haven’t taken timber design, so that’s not going to happen.” Fubuki crushed his dreams in one fell swoop.

“I thought you said Hitomiko covered it in class.” Aphrodi responded, peeved that his daydreaming had all gone to waste.

“She covered the fact that we can do steel, concrete, or timber. And since I have not taken timber design but I HAVE taken the other two, we can pick between steel or concrete. But also the steel professor left halfway through the semester after being exposed for corruption so I wouldn’t recommend that.”

“I don’t know how to architecturally design concrete, but I guess we’ll have to go with that.” Aphrodi sighed as he began to look through the material archives they had been provided. He’d find something that would make concrete look elegant...maybe a modern bookstore was what he needed instead of a more antique feeling one. The two worked quietly together again, Fubuki focusing on sifting through his past class notes and working out a structural skeleton design. Aphrodi diligently saved all the materials he came across and began assigning them to different categories. They would be able to easily pull from these folders later when putting together the final product, saving time in the future. 

An hour passed, and then another. Aphrodi finished before Fubuki did. Getting up to stretch out his back, he marveled at how quickly he had been able to work. Fubuki’s presence put him at ease, probably because he didn’t have any expectations for Aphrodi. Sitting back down, he noticed that Fubuki was still deep in concentration, sketching out force diagrams on the engineering pad. In order to not bother him, Aphrodi pulled out his phone and mindlessly checked his social media while waiting for his partner to finish. His phone was less interesting than watching the facial journey of Fubuki furrowing his brows and squinting to check calculations, though. He ended up putting his phone down and watching the focused student across from him work. 

Fubuki finished the last step in his calculations, then looked up only to be met with a pair of red eyes that were gazing curiously at him. Startled, he almost fell out of his chair as he pushed himself back from the table. Aphrodi reached forward with surprisingly fast reflexes and pulled him back. 

“Careful there,” Aphrodi noted, worried. 

“You staring at me like that surprised me,” Fubuki responded, flustered. “But we’re finished now. I got all the calculations done.” 

“I’m finished too,” Aphrodi responded, “I put them all in assigned folders. We can compile them in a file and send it over to Hitomiko if you scan your papers in.” 

“Ah yeah that’s an option, huh.” Fubuki sometimes forgot that things could be turned in electronically. He was too used to the old paper and pencil method. “Oh wait...I don’t have a scanner at home, do you have one?”

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it,” Aphrodi reached over and took the papers from Fubuki’s hands. “But you know, we actually finished earlier than we thought we would. We still have about 30 minutes before you have to go.”

“That’s good that we finished early,” Fubuki responded, unsure of where this was going.

“That means we still have time for you to teach me how to bike. I even picked clothes that work well with biking today, see?” He gestured at his outfit that consisted of a “sporty” look. The accompanying look on Aphrodi’s face made it clear that this was the only option. The fashionista then picked up his bag and headed towards the library entrance. 

“.....oh, right.” Fubuki packed up his belongings, then warily headed after a very excited Aphrodi. 

\---

They managed to find an empty lot near the engineering library. Perks of having a campus that was always under construction was guaranteed empty plots of land scattered everywhere. Neither Aphrodi nor Fubuki had a hair band on them so Fubuki made Aphrodi stuff his hair under his shirt. When Aphrodi protested, Fubuki started walking off with the bike, which resolved the situation somewhat quickly.

“I feel stupid,” Aphrodi complained as he pushed stray strands of hair into his shirt. Fubuki was trying not to laugh as hair peeked out from the bottom hem of the shirt like straw. 

“It’s for your own good, I don’t want you catching that hair in anything or obstructing your vision,” Fubuki told him sternly. “Now put this on, safety first.” He handed Aphrodi a helmet. Aphrodi made to argue, then decided against it after seeing Fubuki almost follow through with leaving him here with no bike nor trainer last time. Strapping it onto his head, he glanced around and was secretly glad that this was a pretty secluded area that people didn’t come to. 

“Alright now get on the bike and don’t move. I’m going to guide you slowly, OK?” Fubuki instructed Aphrodi carefully as the first-time rider got onto the bike. When Aphrodi was settled down in the seat, Fubuki showed him how the brakes worked and made him practice turning the bike handle a few times. Nervous but feeling more confident now that he had managed to get onto the metal beast, Aphrodi nodded in affirmation when Fubuki asked if he felt up for a slow ride around the lot. 

“Now I want you to pedal at a medium pace. Not too slow so you don’t fall over, but not too fast so I can hold onto the seat to guide you.” Fubuki coaxed Aphrodi into starting up. Slowly pushing down on the petals for the first time, Aphrodi’s shoe nearly slipped on the metal pedal but he managed to recover and slowly get going. Wobbling along with one of Fubuki’s hands on his back and the other on the seat, he embarked on his first bike ride. 

The ground began moving past the tires as Aphrodi focused on pushing down on the pedals at an even pace while maintaining his balance. Fubuki’s hand on his back was a gentle pressure that guided him forward and would shift sides when it was time to turn. Excited by his success so far, Aphrodi leaned forward to see if he could go a little faster, forgetting Fubuki’s advice. The shift in his center of gravity did cause him to go faster, but also caused Fubuki to lose his grip on him. Aphrodi flew forward in surprise but managed to recover and arc in a circle along the lot. 

“Fubuki!” Aphrodi called out in excitement as he biked along. Some of his hair had escaped from his shirt and flitted through the air behind him. “I think I’m doing it!” He looked up and saw Fubuki smiling at him with a mix of pride and relief as he turned through the lot. The setting sun cast a gentle orange light along the engineer's soft figure. Breath catching at this unexpected sight, Aphrodi lost focus and slipped up, falling off the bike. 

“Aphrodi!” Fubuki froze up at this development then rushed forward, cursing himself for not being closer to catch him in time. He had been transfixed by seeing Aphrodi seemingly flying through the lot on the bike, wisps of golden hair reflecting the setting sunlight trailing behind him. By the time he got to the fallen boy's side, Aphrodi had already sat up and was brushing himself off. 

“I’m OK, what about your bike?” Aphrodi asked, worried. He knew that the bike was Fubuki’s only means of transport. Fubuki gave the two-wheeler a cursory look-over. The handlebars were a bit scuffed but they had already been that way before this. 

“It’s fine,” he said briskly, then saw that Aphrodi’s left hand had a bloody scuff on it from when he had fallen off. “You’re bleeding!”

“Ah.” Aphrodi looked down and seemed to notice it at the same time. “I’ll be fine. You have to go right? I’ll take care of this.” He got up and brushed the rest of himself off as Fubuki hesitated and looked on with worried eyes. “Really, I’ll be fine, I’ll just wash it clean in a bit.”

“If you say so,” Fubuki said but doubt showed in his eyes. 

“It was really fun,” Aphrodi said, suddenly changing the subject. He didn’t want Fubuki to feel bad for a mistake he had made. Unbuckling the helmet, he handed it back to Fubuki. He reached out to right the bike when Fubuki caught his arm.

“Let me do that,” Fubuki hurriedly said, “You’re hurt, you should go home and take care of that. Please promise me you’re going straight home, or maybe we should go take care of it in the library bathroom.” Thinking back to the amount of people who would smother him with attention if he walked anywhere bleeding, Aphrodi gave a thin smile and gently pushed Fubuki’s hand off of him.

“I promise I’m going home. It’s just a scratch, I’ll be fine!” He reached back with his right hand and pulled most of his hair back out of his shirt. “It’s almost 5, if you don’t leave soon you might be late,” he teased. Seeing Fubuki’s stricken expression, he couldn’t bring himself to keep up the teasing. “I’ll see you next week,” he said softly, then picked up his bag and left, not looking back. 

\---

That night, Aphrodi was trying to figure out the logistics of washing his hair with only one hand when his phone buzzed. Exasperated, he looked down at his phone out of reflex only to see that it was a text from Fubuki.

* * *

Fubuki: How is your hand feeling?

* * *

Putting down the shampoo bottle, he settled against the bathroom cabinet to reply.

* * *

Aphrodi (Course 119): (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ

Aphrodi (Course 119): FEELING FINE!!!

Fubuki: That’s good, were the scratches deep?

Aphrodi (Course 119): Just a surface scratch!! 

Aphrodi (Course 119): ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)૭✧

Aphrodi (Course 119): Biking was fun!

Aphrodi (Course 119): Thank you !!

Fubuki: Ok. Take care.

* * *

Aphrodi waited a bit longer to see if Fubuki would reply with anything else, but after a while he figured he had used up his luck for the day. Sending a final text, he went back to puzzling out one-handed hair care.

* * *

Aphrodi (Course 119): ٩(｡•ω•｡)و See u next wk! 

* * *

Fubuki stared at the texts as he sat at his desk. He knew that architects relied on their hands for their trade, and they were lucky that Aphrodi had only scraped his non-dominant hand. He thought he had gotten over that old fear, but when Aphrodi had fallen he had barely been able to react, paralyzed by the thought of losing someone again. 

“I thought I didn’t care about him,” he whispered to himself as he buried his face in his hands, avoiding looking at the only family photo he had on his nightstand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a Kageyama joke but shoutout to my actual steel professor that really did disappear halfway through the semester. To this day I’m afraid to design steel structures.


	5. Week 5 - HW4: Drafting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Assignment:  
> Civil: Structural program modeling. (Use program of choice.)  
> Architectural: Drafting. (Use program of choice.)  
> Assignment due next week, electronic submission. PDF only. 

“How’s your hand?” Fubuki asked anxiously as Aphrodi sat down in the computer chair next to him. He had been haunted by it all week but was too scared of being perceived as annoying to text Aphrodi and ask directly every time he remembered what had happened. There had been no time during the busy class lecture either, so he was only able to ask now that they had gotten together to work on the project again. 

“It’s absolutely fine and doesn’t hurt, more importantly do you have any midterms this week?” Aphrodi asked Fubuki with a yawn as he pulled out a can of Red Bull from his bag. Fubuki eyed the large bandage on Aphrodi’s hand with distrust. The wound looked so big wrapped like that. Aphrodi noticed his gaze and held it out for him to inspect. 

“It’s just a wide area but very shallow so it looks way worse wrapped up. Do you want to sign it as a good luck charm?” Aphrodi teased, trying to lighten his mood.

“No! You’re supposed to keep the bandages clean!” Fubuki protested.

“Meanie,” but Aphrodi’s smile betrayed the true meaning behind the words. Fubuki gave up on arguing again, having learned that arguing with a fool made them both fools. 

The two of them were assembled within the engineering computer lab, trying to start on the assignment for the week. Hitomiko had approved their designs and allowed them to continue onto the next stage: Drafting, putting out detailed construction plans for their building. It was time consuming work, and required specialized programs hence why they were stuck in the lab with outdated computers. 

“I had two midterms. One in foundations and another in seismic,” Fubuki answered the initial question wearily. The two courses weren’t easy at all, and to get stuck with back-to-back examss was a special sort of torture. “I took them earlier today, my brain is sort of fried.” 

“I feel you. I had to turn in a mockup and a full draft set, and now I’m stuck here drafting again,” Aphrodi weakly gestured towards the computers they were slumped in front of. The two of them had shared eye bags at this point. 

“Well no use complaining, let’s get it over with.” Fubuki pulled the keyboard closer and typed in his login credentials. Aphrodi sipped on the Red Bull and seemed to zone out for a bit before following suit. 

“What program are you using?” Aphrodi asked, curious. Hitomiko hadn’t insisted on any one program, she had just said whatever they knew how to use. 

“Ravit,” Fubuki responded as he opened the program. “I learned it in another course so I’m just going to keep using it. Later when we do structural analysis it’ll be easier too, since it can go 3D.”

“Ohhh, I’m stuck with AutoCAT,” Aphrodi replied sadly. The program was extremely useful but also extremely frustrating to work with at times. Truthfully it was frustrating most of the time, as it felt more like programming than drawing. He unrolled the hand-drawn plans that they had submitted in Week 2. Fubuki focused on drafting the structural skeleton of the building while Aphrodi worked on architectural layout. Aphrodi popped in one earbud to listen to music and focused as he delved into the program. 

About an hour and several frustrating misclicks later, Endou and Rococo showed up at the computer lab. Unfortunately, Endou had forgotten the key code for the room and started pounding on the door while Rococo frantically looked for the email from Hitomiko. Startled at the noise, Aphrodi looked up from the screen and made to go, but Fubuki pushed him back onto his seat.

“Your hand isn’t healed yet, I’ll go get it.” Fubuki said as he got up and went for the door. Aphrodi looked on, incredulous. He was currently working AutoCAT with both hands active on the keyboard and mouse. Definitely undergoing more strain than simply opening a door. It was a touching gesture, at least. Rococo was apologizing as Fubuki opened the door for them, then the newcomers headed back as a group to where Aphrodi was sitting.

“Working on the project, huh?” Endou noted as he saw their screens. “Ohhh a bookstore, that’s interesting! We’re doing a cafe.” Aphrodi shot a startled look at Rococo who looked back at him with confidence. They had taken the same architectural course, but evidently Rococo had walked away with more knowledge than sadness. Aphrodi couldn’t say the same. 

“Good luck,” offered Aphrodi as they took seats next to him. Endou also chose to use Ravit while Rococo used AutoCAT, which proved helpful as they all had overlapping knowledge of different parts. Moving ahead at a faster pace by asking each other for help, the two teams pooled their knowledge in order to get out of the stifling lab as quickly as possible. 

Three hours later, half of the drawing sets were done but Aphrodi couldn’t help but feel like there should be a faster way to finish off the rest. Unfortunately, it was hard to think on an empty stomach that only had Red Bull in it. Grumbling, he reached into his bag and pulled out some emergency Hot Cheetos, pointedly ignoring the signs that said [No food in the lab!]. 

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Endou said as he watched Aphrodi munch away on the Cheetos. “I think we all forgot to eat...if one of us stays behind, the rest of us can go get dinner and then come back. It’s a good time for a break, too.” 

“I can stay. This is my dinner,” Aphrodi offered as he raised up the bag of Cheetos. The scandalized look on Fubuki’s face was something to behold, but it really was his dinner.

“We’ll get you something better to eat,” Fubuki responded with exasperation as he picked up his backpack and fetched his wallet out. 

“You don’t need to but if you can find someone that understands CAT better than me that would be greatly appreciated,” Aphrodi popped some more Cheetos into his mouth. 

“I’d appreciate that, too.” Rococo tacked on, rubbing his eyes. “Let’s go get some food, thanks for staying behind Aphrodi.” 

“No worries,” Aphrodi waved to them, then turned back to look at his drawing. There was still so much to do, and his eyes were starting to swim from the tiny white lines drifting on the black background. He closed his eyes and leaned back to rest them briefly, munching on the Cheetos and ignoring the itchiness of the wound on his left hand. 

About half an hour later the dinner group returned with takeout in hand and an extra person literally in tow. Endou had his arm looped around a student who was wearing an orange sports hoodie up over his head. Aphrodi squinted, trying to make out who it was. Nothing he wore was very distinctive: a normal black backpack, black pants...boring. The force of being towed into the room, however, caused his hood to slip off and reveal his spiky blonde hair and lightning shaped eyebrows. 

“Aphrodi!” Endou called out, waving a bag of takeout at him. “We came back with food for you AND someone who knows CAT better than you!” Both points were unexpected for Aphrodi. He had been joking when asking for a helper but food was always nice. 

“This is Gouenji,” he gestured at the disgruntled looking student who was unable to leave Endou’s death grip. “He’s a friend from high school and a mechanical engineering student. He’s really good at CAT stuff.”

“I told you, I’m not using CAT anymore. Not since that class incident that caused me to miss Yuuka’s graduation.” Gouenji responded angrily. 

“Gouenji pleaseeeee, we even bought you dinner.” Endou pleaded. “Just this once, really!”

“I’ll watch and give advice, alright?” Gouenji sat down, disgruntled, but still took the proffered box of takeout. Aphrodi was handed one, too and they settled down to eat and work at the same time. Aphrodi couldn’t help but feel like he was being stared at quite intensely from behind as Gouenji observed his progress. After he mistyped a command for the third time, he heard a “tsk” come from behind him that made him start sweating. He attempted to continue but felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he made direct eye contact with Gouenji who just slowly shook his head. Aphrodi got the hint and vacated his seat while Gouenji sat down in it to take over the process. Rococo noticed the change and came over to watch. 

“Just this once, I’m sorry Yuuka,” Gouenji muttered to himself as he took over the controls. Watching Aphrodi get beat up by the program was so painful he couldn’t stand it anymore. Not after the program had crashed on the wilting student twice. He went into the settings and immediately opened up several toolbars, changed save settings, and let his old skills take over. Fubuki and Endou stopped their work to watch in awe as the draft seemed to draw itself with how fast Gouenji was typing and clicking. He barely seemed to move as he glanced at the hand-drawn plans and quickly snapped lines and points into place to match. 

“There.” Gouenji stood up from the chair and went back to where his unfinished dinner was. “That should be enough to fix everything up. Just add the dimensions and you’ll be good to go.” He looked over at Aphrodi only to find himself facing tears in the architecture student’s eyes. 

“Thank you...I can go home before midnight now,” Aphrodi said gratefully. “Do you want my dinner, too?”

“Uh no, one is enough.” Gouenji caught sight of Endou and Rococo’s hopeful faces on the side and felt a sinking feeling in his heart. Rococo’s CAT work hadn’t been bad, but it could use some help on the efficiency portion. He dragged his chair over to them and began explaining some keyboard shortcuts to Rococo as he finished his meal. It was going to be a long night. 

Both groups finished around 9:00 PM after having been in the lab since 3:00 PM. With stiff necks and sore backs, they bid goodbye to each other and headed their separate ways. Gouenji had left much earlier after teaching them what he could. He had also begrudgingly given over his contact information and told them to not contact him with any CAT questions, a promise that held true for about 15 minutes after he left. Each group had finally PDF’d and compiled their files together and submitted it online. Waving goodbye to Fubuki, Aphrodi realized that he hadn’t paid back whoever had bought him dinner. Figuring Fubuki might know, he sent a text when he got back to his apartment.

* * *

Aphrodi (Course 119): Get home safe?

Fubuki: Yes.

Aphrodi (Course 119): Do u know who bought my dinner TODAY?

Fubuki: Why?

Fubuki: I did, did you not like it?

Aphrodi (Course 119): Σ(゜ロ゜;)

Aphrodi (Course 119): No I love any food.

Aphrodi (Course 119): I didn’t pay for it, how much was it?

Fubuki: Don’t worry about it.

Aphrodi (Course 119): ( ；´Д｀)!! No!!

Fubuki: Count it as an apology for the hand.

Aphrodi (Course 119): IT WASN’T UR FAULT!!! NO!!!!

Fubuki: Goodnight.

Aphrodi (Course 119): NO!!!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ravit and AutoCAT reference real civil engineering programs that are both really not fun. 
> 
> I made Gouenji a mechanical engineer because thermodynamics, heh.


	6. Week 6- HW 5: Materials & Load Tables Compilation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Assignment:  
> Civil: Load table sourcing. (Use correct and up-to-date codes.)  
> Architectural: Interior materials choice.  
> Assignment due next week, electronic submission. PDF only. 

Huddled in the basement of the library, Aphrodi and Fubuki had managed to secure a study room to work in this weekend. The reservation process opened at midnight, but evidently Aphrodi didn’t sleep at normal times because Fubuki had woken up to a text message sent at 2 AM saying they had a room reserved at the library for Saturday. 

This week’s assignment required more involvement between the two majors. Hitomiko had stressed that it was critical for them to work together on this portion. Several more weeks of work depended on choosing the correct loads and accompanying materials for the different parts of the building. This entailed poring over tables upon tables of materials and unit weights to account for all the different building variations across the three stories. Piled high within the middle of the study table were several different code and design books that had been hoarded from other students. Aphrodi and Fubuki had both strategically checked them out throughout the past few days so they could monopolize the books when the time came to it. Having only a three day hold period, it had been an exercise in patience and stalking classmates. 

“Are we working with carpet or hardwood flooring?” Fubuki asked Aphrodi as he flipped through a code book. 

“Hardwood,” Aphrodi replied without even looking up. He was currently checking the different types of hardwood available in the binder. “If people want to stand on something soft they can always put on socks or put down rugs. Therefore we don’t need to calculate it, ha.” 

Making a note in the Excel sheet, Fubuki noticed that Aphrodi’s phone seemed to be lighting up nonstop. 

“By the way, if it’s important you can check your phone...” 

He didn’t want Aphrodi to feel pressured to not use his phone if he was around. He wasn't abstaining from his own out of consideration, but rather because no one ever really texted him. He glanced over at Aphrodi who seemed even thinner than last time. Aphrodi’s meals were a mystery to him and after the Cheeto incident he was a bit worried about the architect's nutritional balance. Thankfully the bandage had also disappeared from his hand although the scabbed over scratches were now clearly visible. 

“It’s alright,” Aphrodi sighed. “I don’t want to deal with anyone else right now, anyways. It’s mostly just people asking for help.” Fubuki looked up at him curiously. He had thought that Aphrodi was just a run-of-the-mill student and the messages were from the plethora of girls interested in him. Wondering if he had the wrong impression, he privately resolved to text Kazemaru when he was alone to scope out Aphrodi a bit better. As Aphrodi cleared his screen of notifications, he noticed the time.

“Ah, it’s almost noon, our reservation runs out then,” he said with dismay. They had barely managed to get the rough materials and accompanying loads straightened out in the two hours that they had spent already. 

“We still have half an hour,” Fubuki reassured him, “this week’s assignment isn’t as intense as last week’s. I think we can finish before lunch.”

_ Lunch.  _ An idea sparked in Aphrodi’s mind and he nodded mutely in response. Delving deeper into the code books, he ended up just taking photos of the pages that were relevant in case they needed to change their design later. Fubuki continued entering load data into Excel and they managed to wrap up at noon. As the two of them packed up, Aphrodi decided to initiate the idea he had had earlier.

“Fubuki, do you have any plans for lunch?” 

Fubuki looked up at him with surprise. 

“No, do you think we need to stay longer to finish something we missed?”

“No no, we finished the assignment,” Aphrodi replied a bit flustered, “I was wondering if you’d like to go get lunch with me.”

Fubuki reddened as he realized his callous misinterpretation of the lunch question. 

“I don’t mind…” he carefully replied. Before he could continue, Aphrodi had already reached forward and seized his hand with a smile. 

“That’s great! I know of a good place we can go to, it’s just a quick drive.”

“Wait, but I biked here, I can’t just leave my bike here!”

“I can drop you off back here afterwards.”

“That’s a waste of gas, why don’t we just pick somewhere near the library…”

“I really don’t mind,” Aphrodi weakly started but Fubuki had already left to return the room key. Hurrying after Fubuki since he also needed to be present to receive his ID card from the front desk worker, he tried to think of some excuses to get Fubuki to come with him in the car. As he trudged up the stairs onto the ground floor, however, he looked out the window walls and saw the sudden rain storm outside. Nature had given him the perfect excuse he had been looking for. 

Fubuki was looking bleakly out the window by the time Aphrodi caught up to him. Smiling, Aphrodi patted his shoulder and let his hand trail down to clasp Fubuki’s cold fingers. 

“Come on, let’s go to my car.”

Pulling his hand out of the unexpectedly warm grasp, Fubuki really took in the cost of Aphrodi’s outfit for the first time today and then looked out at the pouring rain. 

“Did you bring an umbrella?”

Aphrodi’s bewildered look answered his question. 

“What do you usually do in the rain?” Fubuki was confused as to how this pretty boy survived in the wild.

“I just…” Aphrodi realized what normally happened, then blushed and looked away.

“You just what.”

“Usually someone offers to share with me,” Aphrodi replied in a quiet voice. 

_ What a hopeless pretty boy _ , Fubuki thought with a sigh as he swung his backpack around and dug inside it for an umbrella. In the process of doing so, his bagstraps slapped Aphrodi’s arm but he didn’t see the boy wince. Pulling out a snowflake patterned foldable umbrella, he shook it out then handed it to Aphrodi. 

“Here.”

“I can’t just take it!” protested Aphrodi.

“You aren’t going to be ‘just taking it’, you’re the taller one so you’ll be holding it,” Fubuki replied, exasperated. 

“Oh.” Aphrodi weakly shook the umbrella again, then opened it and stepped out into the rain, awkwardly holding it out for Fubuki. Sighing inwardly, Fubuki got under the umbrella and they stood there in the rain for a moment. Aphrodi was unsure of where to go. Fubuki hadn’t agreed to go by car yet, but there was no way he could bike in this rain. Casting a nervous glance downwards, he realized that Fubuki had been staring at him this whole time.

“What are you waiting for? Where’s your car?” Fubuki asked. At that moment, a strong diagonal gust of wind blew through and dumped a nice sheet of water onto Fubuki’s shoulder. Acting out of reflex, Aphrodi reached out and pulled Fubuki closer to himself. Not letting go, he steered Fubuki along the back paths near the library until they reached the nearby school parking structure. Fubuki was starting to understand why so many girls tried to offer Aphrodi an umbrella in the rain. Breathing a sigh of relief when they reached the stairwell, Aphrodi finally let go of Fubuki and shook out the umbrella. 

“You’re not too wet, are you?” Aphrodi asked Fubuki as he led the way up the stairs. 

“Huh? Oh! I’m alright…” Fubuki was distracted by the lingering feeling of Aphrodi’s arm around him. Physical touch wasn’t something he got often, yet Aphrodi seemed to dole it out like recruitment flyers at the school plaza. Lost in thought, he almost bumped into Aphrodi who had suddenly stopped next to a sleek black car with a few scratches on the side. After unlocking it, Aphrodi began moving stuff out of the front seat which upon closer inspection seemed to be piles of clothes. 

“Ignore all this,” Aphrodi’s muffled voice called back out to Fubuki. “The weather changes too often here so I just bring around jackets.” He said this as a pair of pants flashed across Fubuki’s field of vision and landed in the backseat. Satisfied with the cleanliness, Aphrodi backed out and held the passenger door for Fubuki with a winning smile. Unable to say no this late into the game, Fubuki quietly wedged himself into the seat and tried not to get too much water onto it. Aphrodi settled himself into the driver’s seat with practiced ease and started the car. 

Fubuki had thought Aphrodi would be an extremely reckless driver, being the owner of a scratched up BMW, but Aphrodi was actually a quite calm and experienced one. The car hummed softly as they meandered through the surface streets near the school before moving onto a highway on-ramp. Rain slid off the windows of the car as Aphrodi seamlessly merged into the lunchtime rush traffic. 

“It’s not too far, and if we eat quickly I can bring you to wherever you need to go by one.” Aphrodi told him as he drove. 

“I don’t have any meetings scheduled this afternoon, just needed some time to myself to get my work done,” Fubuki clarified, “so you don’t need to rush.”

“Ah, alright,” Aphrodi visibly relaxed a bit but kept his eyes on the road. Leaning back as they cruised along the rainy highway, he let one hand slip off the wheel and rest on the armrest between the two of them. Fubuki eyed the casually placed hand, hoping that this was just a force of habit from Aphrodi. He looked up as the car suddenly changed lanes again and realized they were already getting off at a highway exit. Aphrodi hummed softly to himself as he navigated a few narrow streets then haphazardly parallel parked along a row of restaurants. 

“Parked this time with no mishaps,” Aphrodi proudly stated as he retrieved the umbrella and got out of the driver’s seat.  _ Maybe the scratches on the side of the car were there for a reason _ , Fubuki thought as he took in the diagonal parking result. Holding the umbrella above his head, Aphrodi opened the door for Fubuki and shielded him from the rain as he carefully climbed out of the car. 

“Here,” Aphrodi grabbed Fubuki’s hand then guided him to one of the restaurants near the middle of the strip. The sign read: [ **Dragon’s Crepes** ] but before Fubuki could process much more he was steered in by an enthusiastic Aphrodi. Puzzled, Fubuki looked around and saw that there were little dragon statues placed everywhere around the shop interior. Aphrodi excitedly took the menu from the waiter and ordered a diet coke to start things off. Fubuki opted for water and tried to decipher the crepe menu that was printed in very hard-to-read Victorian font. Looking up, he saw that Aphrodi hadn’t even looked at the menu and was just waiting for him to finish reading. He evidently came here often enough to already have a predetermined order. 

“Anything you suggest?” Fubuki asked weakly, deciding that this might be a faster method to figure out what to eat. 

“Are you...ok with spicy foods?” Aphrodi cautiously looked over at Fubuki who was clutching the glass of water already.

“Decent.” Fubuki gave an utterly useless answer.

“I guess the Dragon’s Nest Crepe, it’s got a bit of everything in it and doesn’t have any spice. It’s got a lot of eggs in it, if you don’t like eggs don’t get it.” Aphrodi suggested the safest crepe he could think of on the menu.

“I’ll go with that one, then.” 

“Great, let me go order,” Fubuki watched Aphrodi get up and go to the front counter to talk to the clerk. Only when he saw Aphrodi pull out his wallet did he realize his mistake. 

“Wait!” he cried out as he hurriedly got up from his seat, grasping for his own wallet. Aphrodi’s smug smile from the register indicated that he was already too late. He sat back down in disbelief that he had fallen for this trick. Aphrodi sauntered back and primly sat down across from him while crossing his arms. 

Fubuki refused to meet his eyes, and angrily glared at a white stone dragon with ruby red eyes a table over. It reminded him of a certain insufferable person sitting in front of him at the moment. Aphrodi waited a few minutes as silence stretched across the table, then finally caved when he remembered how stubborn Fubuki could be at times. 

“Alright I’m sorry, but I wanted to treat you to a meal after what you did for me last week OK?” Aphrodi uncrossed his arms and leaned to the side to force himself into Fubuki’s view. Fubuki simply turned his head so he was looking at a black stone dragon now at a different table. 

“Fubukiiiii pleaseeeeeee,” Fubuki decided to glare at Aphrodi and instead found himself looking at a pleading Aphrodi who had turned on puppy-dog eyes to the max. Aphrodi was batting his long gold eyelashes and was looking up at him from where he was lying on the table. 

“This doesn’t count as you making up for that meal,” Fubuki responded icily, trying to dissuade Aphrodi from trying this again. His statement backfired massively as Aphrodi perked up and reached a hand to Fubuki’s side of the table.

“Does that mean you’ll come out to eat with me again? Since this time doesn’t count.”

“No I-” their conversation was interrupted by the server arriving with two large plates of food. Aphrodi sat back up and helped clear aside the dragons on the table to accommodate the crepes. Pulling out his phone, he snapped a picture of his own plate then quickly took a photo of Fubuki, too. Fubuki didn’t notice, being too busy trying to figure out what exactly was in the bulging crepe. Aphrodi decided not to push his luck and put away his phone trying to hide the growing smile on his face. That photo was definitely going to get backed up just in case. 

Starting on their meal, the two of them ate in silence for a while, both of them too hungry to make conversation. Aphrodi’s chattiness couldn’t be easily suppressed though and he eventually started up conversation again.

“So spring break is coming up,” he decided to start with a safe topic. 

“In two weeks or so, yeah,” Fubuki coughed a bit as he answered. His meal didn’t have much to catch on, so he wondered if he had just swallowed wrong. 

“Do you have any plans? Going home to see family?” Aphrodi asked casually as he sliced off another bite of crepe.

“...no, I’ll be staying here.” Fubuki quietly replied. The subtle shift in tone caused Aphrodi to stop focusing on his food for a moment and glance up. Fubuki’s normally gentle eyes now reflected a hint of sadness in them. 

“Oh, well that’s alright,” Aphrodi hastily followed up as he grasped for a way to keep the conversation going. “I’ll also be staying here since I’m well...international…”

“From Korea, right? Is all your family back there?” Fubuki had admittedly become curious about this cryptid international student. Maybe this was a good time to datamine his life instead of bothering Kazemaru later. 

“Yeah they’re all back there, thank god.” Aphrodi replied, rolling his eyes. “My family likes it when I stay quiet and don’t bother them from a distance. They send me plenty of money to keep it that way.” He gave a bitter laugh as he stabbed the butter knife back into the crepe with unexpected savagery. 

Now it was Fubuki’s turn to feel awkward. What was he supposed to say? “ _ Oh well at least you have a family _ ” was not great conversation material. 

_ This feels like a really awkward first date _ , Aphrodi thought sadly as he also tried to salvage the conversation. Aphrodi desperately thought back to the actual first dates he had had. Most of them - no - all of them had consisted of the girl talking all about herself and all he had to do was nod and look pretty as he ate. Unfortunately he always had to pay for the meal, although now he didn’t mind paying for all of Fubuki’s meals if the boy asked for it. These memories didn’t help the fact that he had no real conversation skills while eating, and talking about himself in front of Fubuki seemed like the worst thing to do right now. 

“So...how is the crepe?” Aphrodi decided that food was always a safe topic. Safer than spring break. 

“It’s good, it’s got a lot of eggs in it.” Fubuki felt like he was eating a week’s worth of eggs at once in several different formats wrapped inside a nice crepe.

“Yeah...that’s why it’s called Dragon’s Nest. The owner here really likes dragons but if you ignore that the crepes are quite good.” Aphrodi had stumbled across this restaurant after getting looped into a date with an eccentric girl. After breaking up with her he hadn’t been able to forget the taste (he had forgotten the girl) and after she graduated, he had made it a regular eating spot.

“I take it you eat here often?” Fubuki politely asked as he fished out another boiled egg slice.

“Yeah, when I have the time I like to drop by. There’s a few other places that I like to eat at too if you’re curious.” Aphrodi flashed him a teasing smile which made Fubuki want to throw the egg at him.

“I’m good, I don’t eat out often. It costs too much.” Fubuki’s savings from his working days were wearing thin as graduation rounded the corner. He had budgeted just enough to get him through and didn’t have much to spare. “I usually just cook.”

“Ohhh a cooking boy.”

“What, do you not cook?”

“Does it look like I know how to cook?” Aphrodi responded with disdain, “I don’t have time for that.” 

“Then what-” Fubuki flashbacked to the Cheetos and Red Bull and had the sudden realization of what Aphrodi’s lifestyle must be like. “Oh no, please tell me you at least eat three meals a day.”

“I eat. Enough.” Aphrodi responded flashing his fork as he circled it at Fubuki. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I am worried now.”

“If you go out to eat with me more maybe I’ll eat 3 meals a day. I’ll pay for it.”

“Do not threaten me with your nutrition intake. Money is not the problem here.” Fubuki really wanted to egg this boy now.

“Then don’t worry about it.” Aphrodi’s smug smile had appeared again, showing that he felt like he had won the conversation. The waiter appeared a while later to clear their plates, then came back before the two of them could leave the table and handed Aphrodi a little dragon statue. 

“We’re giving these out as thanks from the owner to our regulars,” The waiter explained as Aphrodi stared at the tiny carved blue dragon holding a shield with the words [ **Dragon’s Crepes** ] etched onto it. 

“Oh, thanks.” Aphrodi wasn’t quite sure what to do with it yet, then looked up and saw Fubuki looking curiously at it. Smiling, he closed his palm around it and finished putting his jacket back on before heading to the car.

The sky had cleared up by the time Aphrodi drove back to where Fubuki’s bike was located. Conveniently pressing the “park anywhere” button in his car, he turned on the emergency lights and ignored the angry honk from behind him as he dropped Fubuki off at the curb. 

“Wait,” he called out to Fubuki before the boy could escape. He leaned back and fetched out something fuzzy from the pile of clothes in the back, then fully rolled down his window and passed it over. Fubuki found himself suddenly in the possession of a black towel and a little blue dragon statue wrapped in it. 

“Your bike is wet, right? Use that to dry it off,” Aphrodi told him, “Just return it to me next week. And you can keep the dragon as a memento.” That teasing smile appeared again. Fubuki’s retort was cut short as a particularly angry honk interrupted the moment. Unable to fight against the flow of traffic, Aphrodi was forced to turn off his emergency lights and drive off but not without waving at Fubuki through the rearview window. Left with some unusual parting gifts, Fubuki helplessly went to find his soaked bike at the library bike racks. 

That night, Fubuki carefully placed the dragon statue on his nightstand. He coughed a bit then rubbed his eyes. Maybe he hadn’t dressed warm enough for once and was finally feeling the aftereffects. Lying in bed and staring at the ornament, he remembered what he wanted to ask Kazemaru and sent a quick text.

* * *

Fubuki: Hi Kazemaru, this is Fubuki from Course 119, Aphrodi’s partner.

Kazemaru: Oh hi Fubuki. Project?

Fubuki: No…

Fubuki: I was wondering what Aphrodi is like in the architecture groups

* * *

_ This sounds so lame, what am I even doing?  _ Fubuki wished he could delete the texts as soon as he sent them. Maybe he just needed to avoid Kazemaru for life after this. 

* * *

Kazemaru: His reputation???

Kazemaru: I’m surprised you don’t know...he’s one of the top students. You’re lucky to get paired with him.

* * *

Fubuki dropped his phone onto his face. He picked it back up while wincing as it buzzed from Kazemaru’s next text. 

* * *

Kazemaru: He’s won a few architectural design competitions btw

Kazemaru: Is something the matter?

Fubuki: No he’s fine. Just wondering.

Kazemaru: Ok, wait did you finish the assignment yet? Kidou and I need the code book.

Fubuki: We returned it today

Kazemaru: Oh. Ok thanks. 

Fubuki: Aphrodi took some pics of the pages if you want that. You can ask him?

Kazemaru: His reply times are sort of bad but I’ll try. Thanks. 

* * *

Fubuki was puzzled at the last statement. Every time he messaged Aphrodi he’d get a response within a few seconds. Lying on his bed, he remembered Kazemaru’s previous statement and decided to search up Aphrodi’s name. Pages of articles came up all showcasing the latest design awards the chaotic international boy had won. Fubuki scrolled through them with morbid curiosity, realizing that there was more to this pretty boy than he had thought. One of the article photos caught his eye and he stared at it for longer than he intended to. 

_ This photographer caught a nice angle, his eyes are so bright here… _ Lost in thought, he spent the rest of the night looking at photos of Aphrodi before bed, not reading what the articles were actually about. 

Aphrodi laid in bed, ignoring the notifications that constantly crowded his phone and laptop and stared at the picture he had snuck of Fubuki. The boy was so fun to tease and spend time with, always giving such unexpected reactions. He wanted to bring Fubuki to all his other favorite places and fill his phone with memories. He sighed and let his phone rest onto his chest. It had been such a nice day. 


	7. Week 7-HW 6: Structural Analysis & Code Compliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Assignment:  
> Civil: Structural analysis (Use program of choice, include analyses printout in assignment package.)  
> Architectural: Code compliance (Include code indices within the design package.)  
> Assignment due next week, electronic submission. PDF only. 

“The engineering library is closed?!” Fubuki coughed a bit, then looked up from where he had been sitting on the floor at Aphrodi who had just delivered the bad news.

“Yeah, see,” Aphrodi held out his phone which displayed an email titled: [ **EMERGENCY - Engineering Library Closure** ]. He had just received it earlier and only briefly read through it while walking to class in a panic. “It says that they found a water leak on the second floor that’s seeped all the way through to the basement so they’ve had to close for the time being. We can still check out books but the study room I booked isn’t available now…” 

“Maybe we can work in one of the study rooms here, or an empty classroom…” Fubuki began to suggest, then remembered why Aphrodi avoided all those areas. This was starting to make sense after he had discovered what a mini celebrity Aphrodi actually was. He decided to try a different tactic. 

“Aphrodi, where do you usually study?” 

“Huh?!” Aphrodi was caught off guard by this question as he had been busy mentally preparing himself to work around other students in an uncontrolled environment. “I usually...work in my apartment?”

“Would you mind if we worked on the project this week at your apartment?”

_ OF COURSE I DON’T MIND!!! _ , Aphrodi wanted to yell out loud with excitement. Then he remembered that he lived in a glamorous bachelor pad, complete with the mess. Fubuki took the hesitation as a no and tried to think of other places available.

“This might be difficult if we want to work alone...the rest of the study rooms across campus have already been booked out,” Fubuki wracked his brain for a secluded study spot. 

“No wait, my place is fine, I’ll just have to clean it a bit…” Aphrodi interrupted. “I live alone in an apartment so we won’t have any interruptions. For our work,” he quickly clarified at the end. This was normally a pickup line and he didn’t want Fubuki to see how easily it had rolled off his tongue. He really was panicking if he had resorted to using pickup lines. 

“Oh. Well if you don’t mind then, this Saturday again? Same time but at your apartment?” This was punctuated by a string of coughs from Fubuki who massaged his chest in discomfort. “Sorry about that, my cough has been getting worse since last week...might be from all the stress after midterms and the wet weather.” 

“You sure about that?” Aphrodi knelt down next to Fubuki and placed a hand on the pale boy's forehead. Tilting Fubuki’s head back, he gazed into the teal eyes that were usually shadowed by his bangs. “Your temperature feels fine...but your eyes seem more red than usual,” he observed, gazing directly into them.

“Wha-” Fubuki pushed Aphrodi’s hand off in surprise, hoping the pretty boy hadn’t noticed the quickening pace of his heartbeat. Aphrodi’s effect on him didn’t seem to be helping his cough in any way as his heartbeat had now also turned irregular. Aphrodi pouted at being brushed off so rudely but he was worried for Fubuki’s health. The boy’s eye bags had gotten worse and the two cute tufts of hair on his head seemed to be wilting a bit. The last part might’ve just been his imagination.

“Lecture time,” grumbled Fubuki as he got up from the floor and brushed himself off. The class inside let out and exchanged spots as the capstone course settled in quickly. Seats were established at this point so no one was scrambling to find a spot anymore. Aphrodi slipped into his usual seat next to Fubuki as his partner went to the front to pick up the assignment sheets. Coming back to the table, he passed one over to Aphrodi who blanched when he read the title. 

“Code compliance…” repressed memories of cross-checking PDF files flashed across his mind. Fubuki’s bleak expression mirrored his as he read his part of the assignment.

“Structural analysis, oh no this is going to be a long weekend…”

\---

Parking his bike outside the homely-looking apartment complex, Fubuki quickly locked it then checked the address again. He had expected Aphrodi to be living in some sort of modern ridiculous high rise, not...a cottage cluster. Heading up the stairs, he felt a bit of relief when he noticed a familiar scratched black BMW parked on the side. This really was where Aphrodi lived. 

Aphrodi had spent the majority of the morning cleaning his apartment in a frenzy. He rarely had guests over and usually the guests that _did_ come in disregarded the mess as they were more focused on him. He pulled his comforter back onto his bed then patted it flat. _ Fubuki probably won’t come in here but...there was no such thing as being too careful.  _ He glanced out the window for the millionth time that day but this time was rewarded with the sight of Fubuki almost crashing his bike into a hidden sprinkler. Aphrodi wished he had taken a video but settled for committing it to memory. Hurrying to his front door, he waited a few seconds after hearing Fubuki’s knock before pulling open the door with barely restrained eagerness.

“Welcome! Here’s some slippers,” Aphrodi helped Fubuki in and gestured at the pair he had put out the night before. It was actually his backup pair of designer loafers but he pretended they were for casual guest use. 

“Ah, thank you. Where should I put my stuff?” Fubuki put on the slippers then headed over to the dining table that had been hastily cleared off the morning of. He could still see the streaks of Clorox on it. Looking around, he observed that it was a small one bedroom apartment. The kitchen looked virtually untouched but the rest of the room had a lived-in feeling with some architectural models piled on the side. He also spotted a slightly open drawer that had some clothes spilling out of it and smiled to himself. Aphrodi wasn’t as perfect as he looked. 

“There is fine!” Aphrodi closed the front door and went to his bedroom to fetch his materials. Returning with arms full of binders, he deposited them next to Fubuki who was currently unraveling his laptop charger. 

“I’ll be working on importing the structural analysis model into SAVE,” Fubuki explained as he revived his computer brick again. “I have a working copy of the program from last semester. They never disabled our license keys.” 

“Sounds awful,” Aphrodi chipperly replied, “I’ll be going through all the specs and codes that apply to our building and making sure that we align with all the requirements.”

“That also sounds awful. And if you find something wrong…” the two of them stared at each other in mutual understanding.

“...we’ll have to redo parts of the model,” Aphrodi finished sadly. He pulled forward a binder then arranged the assignment spec sheets in front of him. The two of them settled into the working rhythm that had been established over the last few weeks. The sound of rustling papers and mouse clicks filled the room as they advanced through the assignment.

Absentmindedly thumbing through the papers in the comfort of his own home, Aphrodi reached over to the middle of the table and fished out a hairband from the stack available. Tying his hair back, he brushed some stray wisps to the side and propped a leg up to continue checking specs. 

“So you  _ do _ tie your hair up.” 

Aphrodi looked up from the design book, surprised by the sudden comment. Fubuki was gazing at him with a look of mild amusement. Puzzled, his brain finally processed the comment and his cheeks immediately bloomed with color. 

“Ah I was so comfortable...I forgot, ahhh,” he reached up to pull the hairband off but Fubuki’s hand reached out and caught his. 

“It’s cute. You should wear it like this more often.” Now it was Fubuki’s turn to tease. Aphrodi’s soul wanted to leave his body at this very moment. He could die happy now. 

“Thanks.” His deep fried brain couldn’t think of anything else to say at the moment. A day later he would definitely be beating himself up for this lukewarm reply. 

“Your hair is so long, how long have you been growing it out for?” Fubuki reached over and ran a few strands between his fingers. Aphrodi felt like he was in heaven. Maybe he did die already.

“I’ve always had it this length, I just trim it when it gets too long.”

“You’ve never cut it short?”

“No...I like it this length.”

“It suits you.”

Aphrodi found that he could only nod in reply, unable to form any smooth response when praised like this while solemnly swearing to never cut his hair short, ever. Fubuki let go of his hair then flashed him a small smile before returning to work on the digital building model. Aphrodi excused himself to go to the bathroom where he ended up pouring cold water onto his face to calm himself down. Just splashing water wouldn’t do it anymore. His brain could barely even focus on the assignment at hand. Taking in a deep breath, he composed himself then reached up to undo his hairband out of habit. Catching sight of his reflection in the mirror, he hesitated then dropped his hand. Fubuki had said he looked cute like this, maybe he would keep it just for now. 

Seating himself again at the dining table, he threw himself into reviewing codes in order to distract from the boy currently across from him. Things were going well until he checked the fire codes. 

“Fubuki…the fire code…” 

“Oh no what is it,” Fubuki’s anxious eyes looked up at him. His structural model was showing spots of red under analysis on his computer screen. That was never good. 

“We forgot the sprinkler system,” Aphrodi whispered. 

“NO.”

“More plumbing,” Aphrodi felt like crying. He hated dealing with water supply. Fubuki’s eyes darted over to the clock on his screen. 5:20 PM...it was already past the usual amount of time they’d spend and with this discovery the changes would take at least another few hours. Maybe all night. 

“Look let’s take a break, we’ve been at it for hours now. Let’s go get dinner.” Fubuki suggested seeing that Aphrodi looked like he was about to have a breakdown thinking about plumbing. Fubuki personally felt like jumping out the window right now, but he needed to support his group partner. They couldn’t both go down. 

“Do you know anywhere good to eat around here?” he asked gently, trying to distract Aphrodi. 

“Ah…” Aphrodi pulled himself out of his crushing display of self pity and focused on thinking about food. “There’s a place within walking distance. It’s a nice sushi place. We can go there.” 

“Let’s go then, maybe a change of pace is what we need.”

Aphrodi rubbed his forehead then nodded, now fully distracted by what he should wear to a potential sushi date. 

“Give me a moment, I have to change my outfit.”

\---

Aphrodi led the way again, having changed into a brand new outfit that he dubbed “sushi-tastic” and had let his hair back down. Fubuki indulged and patiently listened to him explain the importance of wearing a black ribbed turtleneck (hides possible stains) with a red scarf (accent color) while they walked to the restaurant. 

“There’s usually no wait time here so I like it,” Aphrodi explained to Fubuki as they rounded the corner to the restaurant. “We should be able to get seated fairly quickly.” True to his word, they were seated upon arrival. Fubuki looked around, surprised by how small the restaurant was. The booth they were packed into looked like it could fit about four skinny people if he was being generous with load distribution. 

Upon seeing the price tag of the sushi, Fubuki immediately understood why there was no wait time for this restaurant. He needed to start remembering that Aphrodi was a rich international student and lived a very different lifestyle than him before agreeing to go out to eat with him all the time. 

“Order whatever you’d like,” Aphrodi chirped, not knowing the turmoil in Fubuki’s wallet at the moment. “I’ll pay for it so don’t worry, since you wouldn’t accept the meal last time.” 

The turmoil subsided in Fubuki’s wallet and reappeared in his heart. Why did this infuriating rich kid think money could solve everything?! Although he was right. Fubuki was hungry and couldn’t just bike home to eat dinner and come back. Resigning himself to his fate, he tried to order the cheapest thing on the menu but Aphrodi immediately noticed. 

“I’m just going to order for both of us.” Aphrodi overrode Fubuki’s decision without a second thought. Fubuki was desperately holding himself back from giving Aphrodi’s hair a firm yank. He decided that his thoughts were erratic due to hunger and pushed the menu towards Aphrodi in a show of acquiescence. Their orders were quickly taken and Aphrodi rubbed his eyes as they waited for their meal. He opened them back up to see Fubuki had started making a little chopstick stand out of the wrapper. 

“Is this why you chose civil engineering? Because you like building things?” Aphrodi asked curiously as he reached over and poked the stand. 

“I guess, well I started in construction out of high school to make some money and got to know the trades. I didn’t know what I wanted to do but learned that if I became a civil engineer I could design what I was building. An office life sounded nice so I applied and got in.” Fubuki patiently explained. Aphrodi seemed fascinated by the little chopstick stand — it was a bit amusing to watch. 

“That’s really cool how you have experience building these things...it helps a lot in your courses, right?” 

“It’s useful, especially in a class like 119.” 

“I’m a little jealous,” Aphrodi said wryly, “We’re the same age and technically behind in the college age track but you already have so much more experience than me.” 

“Comparison is the thief of happiness,” Fubuki replied softly, “I wouldn’t exactly wish my life circumstances onto anyone else.” Aphrodi looked at him curiously at the last statement but decided not to push it. He had his own secrets and was grateful Fubuki already opened up to him enough as it stood. Fubuki had a faraway look in his eyes, but the food arrived in moments and smelled so good that he quickly focused on the present again. Pouring out some soy sauce, he remembered what he had been told by Kazemaru a few nights ago. 

“I saw you won a lot of design awards.” Aphrodi stiffened at this comment from Fubuki, an unexpected one this late in the game. 

“Yes?” he cautiously replied. Fubuki decided to tease Aphrodi for once, having suffered enough at his hands. 

“You’re wearing the same jacket in all of the pictures.” 

Thunder could have struck Aphrodi at that moment and he would have felt better. Fubuki couldn’t help laughing at the guilty look on his face. 

“I…” flustered, Aphrodi accidentally took too much wasabi and had to commit to it. “I like that jacket, alright!” In reality he kept that jacket in his car and would whip it out any time he felt like looking more professional, such as for an article photo. 

“Sure, sure,” Fubuki soothed, “It looks good on you, of course.” Aphrodi softened at the last statement and the rest of the dinner devolved into generous bitching about the different classes they were taking. Aphrodi was taking several design courses and therefore had less exams than Fubuki. Fubuki was trying to max out the amount of courses he was taking since it was his last semester but had also lost motivation to overachieve in them by now. Regardless, the two of them agreed that their course loads were far too high for students at the tail end of their life cycle. 

“Back to the grind,” Aphrodi sighed as they walked back up the stairs to his apartment. Reality was setting back in again. A reality with fire codes. Fubuki glanced at his phone with worry. It was already getting late and they had spent longer than he had anticipated at dinner. Lighting was horrible around these streets and he wasn’t keen on biking home late at night. This unfortunately became even more of a worry when Aphrodi found additional code violations. 

“I think I’m going to burn this book,” a frazzled Aphrodi announced as he stuck a post-it next to another code requirement they had forgotten. 

“If I had a lighter I’d give it to you right now,” Fubuki savagely replied as his computer whined under the stress of running structural analysis for what seemed like the hundredth time already in an hour. It was nearing midnight and they seemed to be walking farther away from a finished product. Fubuki rubbed his eyes, unused to staying up this late. He liked to keep regular hours and a regular schedule as it helped him feel more in control of his life. Aphrodi on the other hand was getting more erratic as the hours passed. Fubuki decided to put a stop to all of this when he caught Aphrodi holding a fourth can of Red Bull. 

“Aphrodi. Let’s call it a night, I think you should go to bed.” Fubuki caught Aphrodi’s wrist before he could pop open the can. 

“I’m fine?? I usually work like this anyways,” Aphrodi flippantly replied. 

“No you are not fine, you look like a mess,” Fubuki immediately regretted saying that to someone who prided himself on his looks. Aphrodi looked like he was about to cry. “OK no you’re not a mess, but you look really tired and aren’t going to make good project decisions this way. You should sleep.” 

“Are you going to sleep, too?” stung by the previous statement, Aphrodi childishly lashed out in any way he felt fit.

“Yes, after I get home.”

“This late?!” The childish boy from before instantly disappeared as Aphrodi glanced out the window into the pitch black night outside. It was already much later than he had anticipated, having not checked the clock in a while. Looking from Fubuki and then back outside again, he made a brisk decision.

“No you won’t, you’ll sleep here.” 

“I’ll- WHAT.” Fubuki coughed and gripped Aphrodi’s wrist tighter in shock. “What makes you think I’ll do that.” 

“Because I don’t want you biking home at midnight when all the streetlights here are broken! What if you get hit by a car or something! And you’re coughing your lungs out! Or do you want me to drive you home? I can do that.” Aphrodi halfheartedly offered at the end. 

“I’m not getting into a car driven by you when you’re almost on your fourth Red Bull, and I don’t have any of my stuff to stay over!” 

“We’re both guys! You can just borrow some of my stuff, it’s just one night. We’ll wake up early tomorrow morning and finish things up and you can bike home IN DAYLIGHT. Please, Fubuki, it makes sense.” Fubuki wanted to slap Aphrodi with the code book. It made sense to Aphrodi BECAUSE he was on his third Red Bull, not because he was sane. 

“We’ll wake up early and finish, I promise. You can sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep in the living room.” Aphrodi offered, trying desperately to convince Fubuki not to go on a crazy sleep-deprived midnight bike ride.

“I…” Fubuki was starting to fold under this tempting offer of not having to sleep late and wake up early only to come back to the same place. 

“OK, fine, whatever, but you can just sleep in the bed, too. I can’t have you sleep on the floor in your own apartment.” Fubuki was tired and decided that he’d just crash for a night here and they’d finish things up early the next morning. He was trying to convince himself that this was the more efficient working method and to ignore the pleading puppy next to him. Fatigue really was taking a toll on him when a frazzled Aphrodi hopped up on Red Bull looked sort of cute. 

Aphrodi desperately wanted to strike while the iron was hot but also knew he needed to earn Fubuki’s trust when the two of them weren’t drunk on fatigue. 

“No it’s OK, I’ll sleep on the floor since we didn’t plan for this,” Aphrodi immediately wanted his mouth to stop talking.  _ PLAN for this _ , what was he saying...Fubuki’s uncertain expression matched his panicked one, and he decided to just act as if he didn’t recall what his stupid self had just said. 

“The shower is over there, use whatever you’d like, I’ll get you a fresh towel.”

“Oh!” Fubuki suddenly remembered what he had been carrying around with him for a week and had forgotten to give back to Aphrodi every time. Letting go of Aphrodi’s wrist, he went over to his backpack and pulled out a clean black towel. 

“I forgot about this, sorry, but I washed it and brought it back to return to you.” He handed the towel over to Aphrodi who took it with surprise, vaguely noting that the dragon statue hadn’t been returned and therefore must still be with Fubuki. 

“Oh don’t worry about it,” Aphrodi hastily replied. “Actually, this can be your towel! You can use it for tonight again.” Fubuki began to protest but then saw that it was a valid reason, not a Red Bull fueled thought. Helplessly accepting the towel back again, he started for the shower then realized he had nothing to change into. 

“Aphrodi, do you have anything I can wear for the night?”

“Do I have any clothes for you?!” Aphrodi responded in disbelief. He hurried to his room and pushed aside his closet door to delve into the mass of designer clothes that had been haphazardly jammed inside. Trying to think of clothes that would suit Fubuki was so much easier than dealing with design codes. After pulling out a select few tops and bottoms, he hurried back out and showed the armful to Fubuki. 

“Pick whatever you’d like!” 

Fubuki eyed the mass of clothes worth more than his life and daintily picked out what he felt like might be the cheapest items. Aphrodi watched with adoration as he picked out the worst outfit combo possible out of all the ones presented to him. Holding the borrowed clothes and towels, he went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. 

Aphrodi went back into his bedroom and tried to clean it more before Fubuki came in. Fluffing up the pillows, he worried about accidentally exposing anything about himself to the quiet boy. As he finished shoving his last pair of designer sneakers under the bed, he heard a knock on the bedroom door. 

“Ah, come in, I finished getting it ready for you.” Aphrodi opened the door and gestured to the small and now-neat bedroom. Fubuki had been expecting a much messier room and was surprised by how minimalistic and clean it seemed, not knowing all the effort that had been put in right before he walked in. The two stood awkwardly in the doorway for a moment, then Aphrodi remembered his promise and pushed past Fubuki into the living room. 

“If you need anything I’ll be out here, otherwise I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Aphrodi’s smile was still as brilliant as ever, a sleep-addled Fubuki observed. Nodding in acknowledgement, he started to close the door then remembered something important, something to say when living with others.

“Goodnight, Aphrodi.”

“Goodnight, Fubuki!”

\---

Aphrodi had completely lied and didn’t go to sleep at all after Fubuki went to bed. He quietly opened the fourth can of Red Bull and settled down to finish the project. Nighttime was the best time to work for him. A time when others didn’t bother him as much and he could fully focus. Although it was much harder to focus now with Fubuki dozing in his own bedroom. He had been able to see the boy’s dark circles developing in real time and knew Fubuki needed to sleep. Mind wandering, he suddenly wondered how Fubuki had noticed he had worn the same jacket in all those different articles. The pictures had been taken at different times...

In the middle of fixing another design issue, he heard a series of louder coughs then a soft cry from inside his bedroom. Getting up, he hurried to the bedroom door and made to open it when he remembered why he was staying outside. Letting his hand drop to his side, he stood quietly next to the door, wondering what nightmares Fubuki was having to make him cry out like that. He wished Fubuki trusted him enough to allow him to stay nearby. To be able to calm him down and usher him to gentler dreams in the same bed. 

\---

Fubuki woke up early the next morning to the sound of his tinkling phone alarm. He’d had the usual nightmares last night and the persistent coughs hadn’t helped. Wearily, he got up and remembered that he wasn’t in his room. The memories of last night’s sleep deprived decisions rushed back to him and he realized what a bad idea everything had been. Nearly tumbling out of the bed, he ran a hand through his bedhead and carefully cracked open the bedroom door.

Aphrodi was fast asleep on the floor next to a still-running laptop with new designs and calculations spread out around him. Fubuki spotted the open can of Red Bull and nearly swore out loud. He immediately guessed what Aphrodi had been up to while he had been asleep. From the signs all around the passed out night owl, Aphrodi had only recently fallen asleep compared to Fubuki. 

Bending down, he picked up a design package and flipped through it, shivering a bit from the cold morning air. Everything in it was correct and perfectly arranged. Aphrodi had essentially finished almost the entire assignment on his own. All Fubuki had to do now was run the structural analysis and ensure that they passed the simple test cases. Without even checking, he already knew that these designs would pass based on experience from previous courses. A cough crept up in his throat and he hurriedly went back to the bedroom to muffle the sound. 

_ I guess I don’t need to stay around, and Aphrodi needs his sleep _ , Fubuki thought to himself in frustration as he re-emerged to look at his belongings that had been mostly confined to one area of the table. Aphrodi was the one who worked like a whirlwind. Making his decision, Fubuki began quietly packing up after taking pictures of the final design. He hesitated, then changed back into his original clothes from the day before and neatly folded the borrowed pajamas, laying them next to the bed. In the process of making the bed he knocked loose a shoe from underneath. Checking underneath he quietly laughed to himself at the tetris-like maze of shoes that had been crammed below.  _ And here I was thinking he had his life together. He’s not that neat after all.  _

Putting his coat on, Fubuki suddenly remembered what he had originally meant to do. Heading back inside the bedroom, he picked up the blanket and went back to where Aphrodi was sleeping on the floor. Gently placing it over the sleeping boy, he dug back inside his backpack to pull out the snowflake notepad to leave a little note. 

Quietly stepping out and hearing the door lock behind him, Fubuki breathed in the crisp morning air then went to go get his bike. He’d finish the structural analysis in his room and send it over to Aphrodi when he was done. The crazy night owl needed his rest. 

\---

Aphrodi woke up in a confused daze around noon. Rolling over onto his back, he realized that his blanket was covering him...but he was on the floor. Crawling out from under the blanket, he pulled his hair back from where it had fallen over his face and then remembered his promise from the day before. 

“Shit.”

He scrambled up in a rush and hurried to the bedroom only to find the door open and the bed empty. Whirling back around, he almost slipped on the myriad of papers on the ground only to notice a familiar-looking snowflake note paper in the pile. He hurriedly grabbed it then blinked a few times to focus his still-sleepy eyes and read the note on it. 

[Aphrodi, I saw you didn’t sleep all night and finished the design package. I took a pic of it and I’ll go home to run the structural analysis. Get some rest. - Fubuki] 

His dreams of seeing a morning Fubuki dashed, Aphrodi felt like crying from both frustration and also shame that Fubuki had caught him in the act. He bent back down and picked up the blanket, realizing that Fubuki must have draped it over him when he left in the morning. Wandering around the small apartment with the blanket wrapped around him he noted all the little things the quiet boy had taken care of before leaving. Aphrodi truly could not fathom why Fubuki was still single after all of this. If Aphrodi was a girl he’d be chasing after him already...if only...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SAVE is referencing a real civil engineering program that I personally think is one of the most boring ways one can name a structural analysis program. Did marketing even try?


	8. Week 8 - SPRING BREAK

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**  
>  Spring break, no assignments. Enjoy your vacation!
> 
>   
> 

Spring break. A time when college students run wild and go on vacations and generally party their time away, forgetting the worries of school life. 

_ At least that’s what’s supposed to happen _ , Fubuki thought wearily as he slumped outside the engineering library on the cold stone benches. Staring up at the sky, he coughed again and blinked away the sting around his eyes. He had moved into the small room a few years ago knowing that it was both a shady area and badly managed, but it was so cheap… Things like this were going to happen sooner or later with a price tag like that, but he had still been shocked upon receiving a notice tacked onto his front door the night before. Turns out the entire house had a mold infestation problem, which explained his persistent coughs and overall discomfort over the past few weeks. 

_ My budget didn’t account for moving, and I can’t find anywhere else with a room this cheap so late in the semester, _ he mused as the clouds passed overhead. Then there was the problem of finding a doctor, figuring out health insurance, finding medicine.... He just didn’t want to deal with any of this right now. As he looked up blearily at the endless stream of clouds, a spot opened up and the sun peeked through, blinding him momentarily and causing him to look forward again to blink away the afterimage. He blinked a few times then realized that the bright afterimage was growing closer. Startled, Fubuki reached up to rub his eyes and opened them to see a concerned Aphrodi looking down at him, perfectly blocking out the view of the sky. 

“Fubuki. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” 

“Ah...it’s not the sun after all.” 

“Are you ok?!” Aphrodi hadn’t seen Fubuki look this wrecked before, and it was spring break. Most students were spending their precious week passed out in bed trying to catch up on sleep. Fubuki looked like he hadn’t slept since break started. 

“Not really.” For Fubuki to be this honest meant that something really bad must have happened. Taking a seat next to him, Aphrodi turned himself so he was facing the exhausted boy. 

“What happened? You look awful, are you sick?”

“I guess. Yesterday I found out the house I live in has a mold infestation problem-” he was interrupted by a bout of coughs before continuing. “They need all of us to move out to take care of it, but I have nowhere to go and can’t afford to move at the moment. I also have to find a doctor...get myself checked up...” a weak series of coughs racked his body and he returned to staring bleakly up at the sky again. Aphrodi stared at him in shock at everything that had just been unloaded onto him. Suggestions from “my condolences” to “move in with me” ran through his mind. Always one for more action and less thinking, he went with the latter. 

“What about moving in with me?” Aphrodi suggested carefully, knowing Fubuki’s mood was anything but good at the moment. 

“What?” Fubuki had been distracted by the clouds again. Some sparrows had been flying by, looking so free. 

“I said, move in with me, I have the space-” Aphrodi was interrupted by Fubuki finally processing his suggestion and immediately sitting back upright to look him in the eye. The two looked at each other for a moment as Fubuki pulled himself together to mentally process what was happening. 

“Are you serious?” Fubuki asked the normally teasing boy.

“I am. You’ve seen my place. I have the space. You can move in with me. It’s only for a few more weeks right? You don’t have to worry about rent either, I’m paying for it all anyways.” Aphrodi looked completely sincere as he offered this option. Fubuki was starting to think that every time he had to make a decision involving Aphrodi he was never in the best state of mind. The offer was extremely tempting, though. He had nowhere else to turn. Everyone else he knew was out of town or unable to harbor him for an extended period of time. Aphrodi was the only one still in town that fully lived alone.

“I’ll pay for the space I take up,” he firmly replied, making his decision. “And once my original room is cleaned and fixed I’ll move out.” 

“That’s fine,” Aphrodi replied with relief. If Fubuki had said no he would’ve continued to hound him and maybe utilized all the contacts he had to make sure the boy didn’t end up on the streets overnight. “Give me your address, I can drive you over after I drop off this book and we can start moving you over.”

“Is that why you were here?” Fubuki had been wondering why an architecture student would show up at the engineering library over break. He looked down at Aphrodi’s hand and saw the code book he was holding.

“Wait a moment, isn’t that checkout period only-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I forgot about it so I’m here to return it and pay the fine,” Aphrodi sheepishly replied. He brightened up as Fubuki looked up at him with disdain. “But look! It meant I got to help you out today, so it’s not too bad right?” 

“What’s the late fee.”

“I’m not telling you. Now stay here and I’ll be right back.” With that Aphrodi turned around and hurried into the library to pay. He hoped that Fubuki wouldn’t suddenly see some other reason behind his offer and decide against moving in with him in the few minutes he was gone. 

He breathed a sigh of relief when he exited the library and saw Fubuki still sitting in the same spot. Coming back to stand next to the pale boy wilting in the sun, he extended a hand. 

“Come on, let’s go. What’s your address?”

\---

Aphrodi was shocked that this house was classified as liveable. Warily standing outside the house Fubuki rented a room in, he was convinced that the property manager must be extremely committed to the run-down aesthetic. Fubuki unlocked the door but Aphrodi felt like the lock was probably for aesthetic purposes only because no one would even think about breaking into somewhere this shitty. 

“I guess don’t breathe,” Fubuki helplessly advised as he opened the door. 

“Great, I’ll just die here.” Aphrodi sarcastically replied as he stepped in after the morose boy. The house felt damp and dark, probably something he’d love if he was a mold spore. Unfortunately he was trying to save Fubuki from mold spores so this wouldn’t do. 

Heading up a small winding set of stairs, he tried to not touch anything and wished he had worn something more...robust to mold. Fubuki’s room was at the end of the hall, and after jiggling the door handle a few times he finally got the door open and they entered the narrow bedroom. The room was extremely bare with neatly stacked textbooks and papers in piles around the bed and desk. There were only a few other items and were all living necessities other than a photo frame on his nightstand and...a little blue dragon statue. Aphrodi’s heart leapt at that sight, seeing that Fubuki hadn’t thrown it away as he had expected. 

“Let’s bag everything up and then carefully clean it all before bringing it into my place.” Aphrodi suggested as he took in the lack of personal belongings. “I think we can bring it all in one go.” 

“I’ll go get some bags,” Fubuki replied as he put his backpack down and went back downstairs. Taking this moment with Fubuki gone, Aphrodi walked to the nightstand and looked curiously at the photo. He wondered if it was a picture of an ex, but as he picked it up the reflection of light faded and he found himself looking at an old family photo. He immediately recognized Fubuki in it despite this being a childhood photo. Still possessing the same downturned eyes but a happier expression on his face. Next to him was a boy that looked similar but with spikier orange hair and a fiercer expression. Behind these two were two adults, all smiling at the camera in a winter background. Hearing footsteps coming back up the rickety stairs, he quickly put the picture back down and retreated back to where he had been standing before. Idly playing with his hair, he greeted Fubuki as the boy re-entered the room holding a bundle of trash bags. 

“Let’s bag up what we can bring and leave the rest here. I mostly care about my papers.” Fubuki suggested as he passed over some bags to Aphrodi. The two of them quickly went to work, both wanting to get out of the infested house as quickly as possible. Out of the corner of his eye Aphrodi saw Fubuki carefully wrap the picture frame in a towel and then place the dragon together with it into a bag. Through a combo of speed and Fubuki not owning much, they managed to clean out Fubuki’s place in a little over an hour. Piling all the bags into his car, Aphrodi had to re-drive through some surface streets before heading out to adapt to the new weight of the car. 

“Let’s drop these off at my place and then take you to the doctor.” Aphrodi suggested as they wound around the roads surrounding the campus. 

“It doesn’t have to be today,” Fubuki replied weakly, already feeling guilty for how much Aphrodi was helping him.

“I don’t think I can sleep easy with you coughing your lungs out like that.” Aphrodi responded evenly. “I’m taking you to the doctor today.” 

Unable to protest without coughing his lungs out, Fubuki relented and settled back into the car seat. In no time, they pulled up to the familiar cottage apartment building. Piling out of the car and carrying bags up to the room took longer than expected, especially with Fubuki already in bad physical condition. He ended up having to sit in the car while Aphrodi did all the heavy lifting. 

“Sorry,” he weakly apologized as Aphrodi handed him a cup of warm water. “I wasn’t much help.” 

“Don’t worry about it, you’re going to the doctor for a reason.” Aphrodi reassured him. “Let me check your insurance while you rest a bit more.”

“I have the default school insurance.” 

“Ah that makes things easier, I already know of an urgent care place that takes our insurance.” Fubuki was concerned that Aphrodi already knew of a place but was too weary to care. Having a place to stay had finally eased the overwhelming stress he had felt since yesterday. Being next to a familiar figure chatting gently at him, he found himself drifting off to sleep as Aphrodi started the car up again to head to the clinic. 

\---

Fubuki woke up to the smell of croissants and coffee. Stirring, he realized a jacket had been draped over him and he was still inside Aphrodi’s car. While trying to blink consciousness back into himself he pulled aside the jacket and looked at the driver’s seat where a certain blonde international student was eating a croissant and scrolling through their phone. Looking up at the sudden movement, Aphrodi smiled and raised his croissant at Fubuki. 

“How’re you feeling?”

“Why are you eating a croissant? Where am I? What time…” Fubuki was extremely confused. This was not the clinic. Clinics didn’t give out croissants and coffee.

“You fell asleep while I was driving to the clinic so I decided to let you rest and detoured to a coffee shop to pick up some food for us. I left your share in the cupholder in the middle. We’re in the clinic parking lot.” Aphrodi gestured at the packaged croissant next to Fubuki. It was cold. “Oh and it’s been about three hours. But the clinic is open 24/7 so you’re fine.” 

_ THREE HOURS?!  _ Fubuki was reeling from all of this information. Aphrodi had been sitting in the car with him fast asleep like an idiot for three whole hours in a clinic parking lot. 

“Why didn’t you wake me up?!” Fubuki couldn’t believe all of Aphrodi’s time he had just wasted and the boy’s ambivalent attitude to it all. 

“You looked so tired, it’s not a big deal,” protested Aphrodi, surprised at the ferocity of Fubuki’s behavior. Maybe the poor boy just needed to eat a croissant. He picked up the uneaten croissant and handed it to Fubuki. 

“Here, eat this and then we’ll go in. You missed lunch throughout all this anyways.” Already feeling like shit, Fubuki ended up just taking the food and eating it all while taking sips of juice. Somehow the infuriatingly calm boy had decided that caffeine wasn’t good for Fubuki at the moment and had just gotten him fruit juice. Calming down a bit, he went into the clinic with a concerned Aphrodi trailing behind him but still looking flawless while holding a cup of expensive cold coffee. 

“I’ll wait out here, let me know if you need anything,” Aphrodi called to him as he sat down in the waiting area. Pushing his long hair back over an ear he returned to browsing his phone and looking way too good for someone in an urgent care waiting room. Fubuki nodded, then went up to fill in his information for an appointment. 

\---

“Let’s take care of the rest tomorrow,” Aphrodi carefully steered Fubuki to the dining table, preventing him from opening any of the bags. “You’re seriously exhausted and need the rest.” 

“Only if you actually sleep this time, too.” Fubuki responded in annoyance at being herded like a sheep. He also noticed that the apartment was much messier than before, with clothes strewn all around the room. 

“If you sleep next to me then you’ll be able to confirm it.” Aphrodi spoke without thinking like usual, and immediately felt like leaving his apartment and exiling himself after that phrase left his mouth. The ensuing look on Fubuki’s face made him start mentally deciding what clothes to take with him.

“Don’t tell me you were going to sleep in the living room this whole time.” 

_ Oh, that was an unexpected response. _

“Yes? Where else would I sleep?” A bewildered Aphrodi responded.

“In your own bed?”

“With you??”

“Yes???”

“Oh, um, if you’re ok with that.” 

“Yes I’m fine with that if it keeps you to a regular sleep schedule.” Fubuki snapped, ending the conversation. 

_ Maybe he doesn’t mind because we’re both guys, _ Aphrodi thought to himself in confusion as he heated up the takeout they had gotten for dinner. Fubuki was in no state to cook, and also had nothing to cook with in this showroom kitchen apartment. Eating together in silence, the long day wore on both of them at last. Fubuki dutifully took the medicine he had been prescribed at the clinic and then went to take a shower. 

“I placed the stuff you might need on the counter, let me know if you need anything else.” Aphrodi called out to him from the dining table where he was still eating. 

“Thanks.” Fubuki deadpanned as he entered the bathroom. A familiar-looking black towel was folded on the counter along with the same clothes he had picked last time and a new package of underwear. The last item made him hesitate a bit, seeing that it was in his size, but nothing really fazed him anymore after such a long day. Not even questioning how Aphrodi had somehow procured it, he shrugged and undressed to take a long hot shower. 

Settling into bed, he was barely able to keep his eyes open despite having taken a long nap earlier that day. Aphrodi was drying his hair in the living room, but when he came into the bedroom only his roots were dry. 

“If I blow dry the whole thing it’ll take me an hour and leave me with split ends,” he whined when Fubuki questioned him. “It’ll just dry as I sleep.” Saying as much, he closed the bedroom door and then took off his shirt. Fubuki’s sleepiness was immediately dispelled at this sight and he yelped out loud.

“What are you doing!”

“Taking off my shirt?!” Aphrodi responded, baffled.

“For bed?!”

“I always sleep with my shirt off, it’s hot!” Fubuki stared in disbelief at Aphrodi who was halfway out of his pants as well. “I run hot, OK, sorry. I can sleep outside.” Picking up his shirt from the floor, Aphrodi turned around to head back out while dragging his pants around his ankles. 

“No wait, it’s alright, it just caught me by surprise. I can’t have you sleeping on the floor when you’re the one who lives here. I should be the one sleeping outside.” Fubuki hastily called after Aphrodi. 

“There’s no way I’m letting you sleep on the floor in that condition.” Aphrodi challenged, “Here. I’ll sleep with a big shirt on, would that help?” He dumped the clothes in his arms on the floor again then went to his overflowing closet to try and find something that would work. 

“It’s alright...it was just a shock, really, just get in bed.” Fubuki was growing weary again and it showed in his voice. Hesitating, Aphrodi looked back and decided to just do as he was told. It wasn’t everyday he got a chance like this. Nestling himself into his side of the bed, the two of them left a generous space in between for their first night. Aphrodi wasn’t sure how he was going to sleep, but the high speed train of thoughts running around his head were interrupted with the sound of gentle breathing from behind him. Fubuki had simply fallen asleep from exhaustion. 

_ Maybe I just think too much, _ Aphrodi incorrectly decided for himself. Moving himself into a more comfortable position and closing the space in between them, he closed his eyes and fell into the world of dreams as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aphrodi's floorplan:
> 
> He is bounded by neighbors on both sides.


	9. Week 9 - HW 7: Foundation Design & Exterior Facade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Assignment:  
> Civil: Foundation Design (Geotechnical report in course files.)  
> Architectural: Finalize material choices. Submit materials package.  
> Assignment due next week, electronic submission. PDF only. 

The rest of spring break was spent cleaning the mold off of everything that Fubuki had brought, and also tidying Aphrodi’s apartment so two people could comfortably live in it. The obvious bachelor had a number of clothes that were too worn or just didn’t fit anymore that had just been laying around. After some prompting from Fubuki he had sadly donated them all. This freed up enough space for Fubuki’s tiny stack of plain clothing that Aphrodi didn’t approve of. 

Aphrodi took this chance to generously offer to lend Fubuki clothes and dress him as he saw fit. Fubuki protested at first but gave in, figuring he’d just wear a rain poncho every time he had to eat to keep the expensive clothes clean. Although after seeing the capricious boy spill spaghetti sauce on a GUCCI shirt and continue eating, he decided he didn’t care after all and wore the clothes with impunity. 

By the time school rolled around again, the two of them had extended their working rhythm into a living rhythm. Fubuki cooked for both of them and Aphrodi would buy the groceries, finding this a good tradeoff as he both saved money overall and got to eat healthier, regular meals. Their two sleep schedules also slowly aligned so one would not bother the other. Fubuki found himself at ease in the little apartment much sooner than he would’ve thought possible.

“Aphrodi, I’m going to do the laundry before class, is this everything you want washed?” Fubuki called over to the lounging boy on the floor who wasn’t wearing pants. 

“Yeah I put my pants in there.” Aphrodi turned over onto his side to check the rest of the room which had miraculously turned cleaner now that Fubuki had moved in. “No, I think everything’s in the basket.”

_ That much was obvious _ , Fubuki thought wryly. Gathering up the keys and laundry coins he went downstairs to the shared units and loaded them up. Coming back in he found Aphrodi putting on some pants. 

“Someone coming over?” he asked, surprised. 

“No, just need to go on campus earlier,” grumbled Aphrodi, “I need to pick up some design books from the architecture library. They just got returned so I have to go now.” 

“Alright, I’ll bring lunch with me then, meet me outside the engineering library. We’ll have time to eat before class.” 

“Ah, thank you.” Aphrodi had stopped losing weight from stress after Fubuki had started cooking for the both of them. His hair seemed to glow now and overall he looked much less washed out. Fubuki had also steadily recovered from the mold infestation with the help of the medicines prescribed and felt much better now. Hurriedly picking up his bags, Aphrodi hesitated for a moment at the door then called back to the figure in the kitchen.

“I’m off!”

“Take care,” came the measured reply. 

\---

Settling at a lunch table in the middle of the engineering campus, Fubuki handed Aphrodi his portion of freshly cooked lunch. The weather was good enough to eat outside as hints of spring chased away the cold winter winds. 

“Did you get the books?” Fubuki asked as Aphrodi popped open the tupperware lid with hungry eyes. 

“Mhm, and a few other ones too that I think might be helpful for our project.” Aphrodi responded while fishing bell peppers out of the stir fry.

“Aphrodi, you promised you’d eat them this time. Don’t fish them out. You’ll just say you’re too full and make me eat them at the end,” Fubuki accused.

“No I won’ttttt,” the petulant boy whined in response. He hated bell peppers but Fubuki liked them. No matter how much he liked Fubuki he couldn’t bring himself to like bell peppers but at least he could pretend for a bit. 

Squabbling over a simple vegetable, the two of them didn’t notice some other students who had caught sight of them. 

“Hey you two! Same lunch?” A familiar voice boomed out to them as Endou leaned over their shoulders to peer at their meal. Fubuki jumped in surprise while Aphrodi dropped the bell pepper he had been trying to sneak into Fubuki’s tupperware. Looking suitably chastised at Fubuki’s furious look upon discovery, he sadly ate the next one. 

“Do you mind if we eat with you?” Rococo had been a few steps behind, holding a heavy bag of takeout. 

“That’s fine,” Fubuki replied, generously moving aside their bags to make space for the newcomers. “How is the project going for you two?”

“It’s moving along,” replied Endou with confidence. “Rococo actually came back to my home over spring break so we got quite a bit done. I also got to show him my hometown!”

“Woah that’s pretty nice,” Aphrodi noted with surprise, “Us internationals don’t often get to experience that. Lucky you, Rococo.” Rococo blushed a bit and Aphrodi narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling that this was a special exception for Endou to bring someone home. 

“What structural material is your group using?” Fubuki asked, curious. They had taken similar courses so if Endou had picked a different material that would’ve been a bold choice.

“Reinforced conc- OH HEY!” Endou suddenly jumped up from the table and waved over at a plain brown-haired youth in a sports jersey who was walking past. He looked startled at suddenly being called out at, but quickly recognized who it was.

“Oh, Endou! I haven’t seen you in a while!” The fresh-faced boy came over to the table and looked around the group curiously. “Is this a club meeting?”

“Nah we’re just all in the same project course and happened to be in the same area for lunch so we’re eating together,” Endou clarified. Seeing the look of confusion on everyone else’s faces he realized that no introductions had been made. “Ah, this is Fideo and he’s a business major. We took a required literature course last year and did the group project together. It was disastrous but we passed!” Rococo seemed to be sizing up a potential rival, but his smile was enough to disarm the newcomer.

“What type of project? Cement stuff?” The clueless business major asked. The ensuing stormy expression on all of their faces caused him to step back a bit.

“It’s concrete.” Rococo carefully stated. “Cement is powder, concrete is what we normally use for building structures. We’re working with reinforced concrete for this project course.” 

“Oh….” Fideo replied, unsure as to why he was suddenly being decked with cem--no, concrete knowledge.

“Cement is completely inaccurate if you’re talking about building materials,” Fubuki couldn’t help but dogpile onto this poor misspoken boy. “It can become any number of materials such as grout, mortar, etc. so you shouldn’t randomly just call things cement. It’s inaccurate.”

“Just be careful what you say,” Aphrodi slyly finished, enjoying the show as he took this distraction to push the remaining bell peppers into Fubuki’s tupperware.

“I see, sorry about that,” Fideo nervously answered the imposing group. “I think I understand now. Actually I’m in a bit of a rush to get to a business club lunch so I can’t stay around.” He was already backing away from the group. 

“Oh, we won’t keep you then!” Endou, oblivious to the hurt that Fideo had just gone through, beamed at him. “Let’s catch up another time!” The subtle shake of the head from Rococo next to Fideo wasn’t lost on the receiver. 

“Sure! I’ll let you know,” Fideo nodded hurriedly and waved as he left. He would never contact Endou again. 

“Can’t believe people still have that misconception,” Fubuki grumbled as he noticed the larger pile of bell peppers in his tupperware and a casual Aphrodi next to him.

“Aphrodi, eat your peppers.” 

“I’m full…”

“Aphrodi!” Fubuki picked up half of the peppers and placed them back into the picky eater’s tupperware. “At least eat these ones, and we won’t buy these again since you’re acting like this.” Taking it as a net win for having to eat less than the original amount, Aphrodi reluctantly nibbled on a bell pepper. 

“You guys go grocery shopping together now?” Endou asked, curious after watching the conversation. 

“Ah, we live together now,” Fubuki evenly replied as he ignored a sulking Aphrodi. “My apartment had mold issues and I had to find a place to stay under short notice and he graciously offered.” 

“That’s convenient, must make it easy to work on the project,” Rococo joked with a smile. The two living together, it explained how they seemed so at ease with each other despite bickering earlier. 

“It is easier, and now Aphrodi has a much better sleeping and eating schedule,” Fubuki amended as he began packing up the now-empty tupperwares. “We should start heading over to the classroom, I hope it’s a shorter lesson today.”

“Wouldn’t hold out for that,” Endou replied with a sigh as the group got up to move, “It’s foundation design…”

\---

“A geotechnical report this late in the course, did she just forget that we have to build on Earth?!” Fubuki exclaimed in a fit of frustration as they sat together at the dining table to eat. 

Aphrodi looked on with sympathy, fully understanding that with the new information about the ground they were building on Fubuki had to make changes to the structural design. His assignment was easier this week, having to finalize the exterior facade design of the building and assign materials. 

“She did say this was a realistic course,” Aphrodi carefully tried to reassure his seething partner. 

“Realistic in that I might go back to the clinic for an ulcer. Midterms are next week, too.” 

“Stupid how they call it midterms when it’s twice a semester,” Aphrodi responded with amusement. “But the timing is pretty bad, should we call some other groups and see what they’re doing?” 

“It’s alright, I’m just complaining,” Fubuki sighed as he reached for his laptop. Aphrodi’s hand covered his and stopped him from retrieving it.

“Finish dinner first, you’ll be able to think better after you eat.” 

“Says the one who didn’t eat regular meals until I moved in,” Fubuki retorted but he was calmer now. Deciding to worry after the meal, he relaxed a bit and looked down at the simple dishes he had made. The way Aphrodi ate his cooking made him feel like a 5-star chef and it secretly pleased him. 

“How’s the house situation going?” Aphrodi curiously asked as he peeled off the skin from his slice of salmon.

“The property manager’s a deadbeat and I haven’t seen anything happen to it,” Fubuki replied sadly. “I don’t think anything is going to change with that place anytime soon.” 

“That’s alright, my lease isn’t up until this semester is over and by then we’re graduating. At least I assume you’re also graduating.” 

“Yes, I am. No more school for me after this!” Fubuki vehemently replied. 

“Have you lined up a job yet?” Aphrodi nonchalantly asked. 

“I went through a bunch of interviews last semester, speaking of which it should be about time offers started coming out…” Fubuki had nearly forgotten to follow up with the companies with all the classwork he had had. Mentally resolving to do so after dinner, he stopped Aphrodi from passing the salmon skin onto his plate. 

“Stop that. It’s good for you so eat it.”

“I know you like the skin, it’s for you.” Aphrodi tried to give off a charming smile but Fubuki’s stony expression made him take it back and pathetically nibble on it. 

“How about you, are you staying here or going back home?” Fubuki asked, curious now that they were on this topic.

“I’ll be staying here...I have offers already. I just haven’t accepted one yet.” 

“Is it a difference in salaries that’s troubling you?”

“No,” Aphrodi sighed, “it’s a difference in the type of work. Government contract work or private contract work. There’s different kinds and I haven’t decided on what I want to do yet.”

“That’s fair, but it’s good you already have offers. After graduation you’ll be set.” Fubuki felt a small pang in his chest. After graduation they’d move apart, leave each other, probably never see each other again. He was starting to enjoy his time living with Aphrodi, but it would be short lived. It had been a long time since he had lived with another person. 

“By the way, since it seems like you’ll be staying here longer, you can put up some of your stuff again.” Aphrodi was thinking of a certain picture frame and dragon statue. He hadn’t seen them since Fubuki had moved in with him, but the boy had also minimally unpacked thinking he’d have to leave again quickly. 

“Ah.” For once Fubuki was on the same wavelength as Aphrodi’s thoughts. “I suppose…”

“We live together now, you don’t have to hide those things from me.” He decided to boldly push ahead. Worst case he could sleep on the floor. 

Fubuki looked decidedly uncomfortable for a moment, staring at the rapidly cooling meal in front of him that had gone untouched for a while now.  _ Should I tell him? Explain the nightmares? Let him know since we live together now?  _ Fubuki had enough self awareness to understand that he must seem erratic to Aphrodi at times. The guilt of his nervous behaviors weighed on him and had been a large reason why he had typically avoided having roommates. He looked up and met Aphrodi’s patient eyes, seemingly looking directly at him. Seeing him for who he was, not what he pretended to be. 

“I...I lost my family at a young age due to a car accident in the mountains. It was an avalanche and I was the only one that made it.” There. He said it. He had never really told anyone in college this before, keeping it close to his heart and hiding it. He didn’t want those looks of pity or sympathy. Bracing himself for the expected result of such an open confession, he glanced back up and saw unexpected gentleness in Aphrodi’s eyes. 

“Thank you for telling me.” Aphrodi softly replied. He had guessed something had happened in Fubuki’s past, and wouldn’t have pushed so hard if he hadn’t been so worried during the boy’s fitful nightmares. Fubuki felt like a weight had been lifted from him again, now that he had laid his past bare in front of Aphrodi. He quietly began eating, unsure of how to continue the conversation.

“There’s a reason why I came overseas to study.” Aphrodi’s voice cut through the silent air between them. Fubuki looked up from his plate to see Aphrodi playing with his hair as he spoke, a sign that he was nervous. “I had some mishaps when I was in highschool with alcohol...it took a lot to clean up and I got sent abroad so my reputation wouldn’t follow me.” That explained why Aphrodi never drank. Fubuki had been surprised when he had found no liquor in the apartment, seeing that drinking was usually a staple hobby for a rich international student. 

“I would’ve never guessed that,” Fubuki quietly replied, “but I think you’ve done well for yourself here, so your past shouldn’t matter anymore.” Aphrodi’s relieved smile said more than enough. Fubuki was glad Aphrodi had opened up to him as well, feeling like they were now on equal grounds with each other. 

Trying to lighten the conversation, Aphrodi spoke up on a matter that he had been mulling over.

“Fubuki, you’re such a caring person, I can’t believe you don’t have a girlfriend yet.” 

The sudden change in atmosphere from Fubuki instantly made Aphrodi regret what he had just said. 

“Ah...about that.” Fubuki’s right hand went to encircle his left wrist, his own nervous tic. “I’m not...into girls.” 

“Oh. Sorry I assumed that.” Aphrodi was praising how his brain could come up with a smooth reply at the moment when his internal emotions were screaming about how he suddenly had a chance in hell to be with this soft boy. 

“That’s alright. I don’t talk about it.” Fubuki was carefully avoiding looking at Aphrodi after this. “If this makes you uncomfortable…”

“It’s completely fine. I’m not prejudiced against this stuff.” Aphrodi hurriedly reassured him. “It’s not like I don’t have friends who are gay. I’m an architecture student…”

Fubuki smiled up at him again, relief showing in his eyes. Now that Aphrodi knew that this smile could be directed to him as a lover he could barely restrain himself. It was a heartfelt moment, not one for his internal emotions to crash into. 

Finishing first as usual, Fubuki cleaned up his plates and then pulled out his laptop. Clicking rapidly, he began looking into how to change the footing designs to match the new ground conditions. Aphrodi’s thoughts were elsewhere as he slowly finished his meal, turning over what he had just learned about Fubuki in his head. Those nightmares Fubuki had...maybe there was a way to deal with them. 

\---

That night, Fubuki noticed that Aphrodi had somehow procured designer pajamas. Confused, he looked at the boy getting ready for bed beyond the bathroom door. He was already lying in bed and had honestly gotten used to Aphrodi not wearing anything but boxers for sleeping. After the initial shock had worn off he had just pointedly avoided looking at Aphrodi around bedtime. 

“Is this out of consideration for me?” he asked, remembering what he had told Aphrodi earlier. 

“Mmmm no, not really,” Aphrodi finished brushing his teeth then moved on to hair care. “Well sort of, but it’s not about the whole liking guys thing and me standing naked around the bed thing.” Fubuki felt like Aphrodi had a way to somehow make things sound just as awkward as he had initially felt. 

“Then what is it?”

Aphrodi didn’t reply and instead checked the apartment locks before coming to bed. He noticed that Fubuki had put the photo frame and dragon statue up on some textbooks near his side of the bed. Smiling to himself, he pulled aside the blanket and climbed in. Instead of remaining on his side like normal, he rolled over and then embraced Fubuki in a warm hug. 

“What!” Fubuki stiffened in surprise then tried to push him off, planting his hand firmly in Aphrodi’s beautiful face. 

“Hold still! I think this will help you get a better night’s sleep,” Aphrodi’s muffled voice came out to him through the palm of his hand. The skinny boy had a lot more grip strength than Fubuki would’ve ever guessed. 

“And how?” came the icy response.

“Let’s just give it a try, I even found some pajamas.” He could feel Aphrodi’s warmth through the expensive silk. Aphrodi wasn’t lying when he said he ran hot, the stupid man was a goddamn furnace. “Ow! Let go of my face!” 

Fubuki reluctantly loosened his grip on Aphrodi’s nose and glared up at him. Gentle but cunning red eyes gazed down at him, framed by a playful smile. 

“I’ll be here for you while you sleep. You keep dreaming about your past, right?” Aphrodi burrowed his face into Fubuki’s hair. “I’ll be here, anchoring you to the present.” 

“I really don’t think…” Fubuki started to protest.

“Just give it a try.” His warm breath on Fubuki’s ear startled the pale boy. “If you still get nightmares I’ll stop, but at least let me help.” Fubuki couldn’t see Aphrodi’s expression now, couldn’t see the expression full of hope. 

“Fine. One night.” Fubuki felt Aphrodi smile without even seeing his face. Leaning to the side with a sigh, he turned off the lamp next to the bed and settled back into Aphrodi’s arms. 

\---

Fubuki woke up groggy and sweating to the muffled sound of his phone alarm. Not from nightmares. From the extremely warm human heat pack that was stuck like a remora onto him. Extricating himself from Aphrodi’s tight grasp while the heat pack was fast asleep proved extremely difficult. Resigning himself to his fate, Fubuki laid in bed for a moment, breathing heavily from the combined exertion and heat of trying to escape. 

_ No nightmares… _ this was the first time in a very long time he had been able to get a full night’s peaceful sleep without resorting to sleeping pills or bone-deep exhaustion. He was loath to admit it but this may have been the solution he was looking for. Sighing, he attempted to get out of the vice grip again and gave up on doing so without waking up the human incarnation of a fire spirit. 

“Aphrodi, Aphrodi, wake up.” Equally groggy, Aphrodi found himself being shaken awake. 

“Wh-what??” He was hugging something warm...soft. 

“Aphrodi you’re gripping me so tightly I can’t get out of bed.” Fubuki’s voice. Coming from next to him...oh god he was hugging Fubuki. Immediately letting go while trying to open his eyes, he registered the mess of sheets but his clothes were still on. That was a relief. Clothes while still in bed with someone else was a good sign. 

Fubuki climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom while Aphrodi lay in a daze. Yesterday’s memories resurfaced slowly as he gazed at the bedroom ceiling. Reaching up and pulling aside the stray hairs on his face he wondered if his ploy had worked. He wasn’t sure if he had enough self control to keep himself from Fubuki if he was rejected like this. Musing about how he was a massive idiot at times, Aphrodi was deep in thought. Fubuki reappeared from using the bathroom and greeted him with a look of mild amusement.

“Good morning, venus flytrap.”

“Did you just call me Venus?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, I called you a plant.” Fubuki sat down on the side of bed and pulled on some socks. Aphrodi watched his side profile, beautiful with the morning sun cascading along him, like he was back in his dream. 

“How are you feeling? Any nightmares?” Fubuki was silent in response to this question, spending longer than needed on adjusting his socks. Placing both feet on the ground he stared at the half-open closet in front of him, keenly aware of Aphrodi’s eyes watching him. 

“No. No nightmares.” He felt the bed creak as Aphrodi moved. Turning, he saw the boy had turned onto his side and was smiling slyly at him. Messed up bedhead and silk pajamas looked stupidly good on him...Fubuki shook his head to try and rid himself of these thoughts. One night with close physical touch and he was already like a sappy lovesick boy who thought everything Aphrodi did looked amazing. 

“Isn’t that great? I told you it would work.” 

“You said to try it.”

“Well it worked,” Aphrodi reached over and stroked his cheek. “And the eyebags are gone, that’s good.” 

“Stop that,” Fubuki snapped, blushing in surprise. Aphrodi really needed to stop being so touchy-feely all the time. It was extremely confusing for his heart. “I’m going to class, breakfast is on the table, make sure to eat it.” 

“Alright, take care.” Aphrodi yawned and rolled back over into bed, he normally got up much later than Fubuki. The cold boy headed out the door after shrugging on some clothes he picked up off the ground, a norm at this point. Closing his eyes, Aphrodi brought up the fingers that had stroked Fubuki’s cold cheek to his lips and gave them a soft kiss before falling back asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This far into the fic it’s time for a PSA:  
> Cement is powder, it is the base material used for creating a variety of materials.  
> Cement + water = grout  
> Cement + water + Fine Aggregate (FA/sands) = mortar  
> Cement + water + FA + Coarse Aggregate (CA/rocks) = concrete  
> Concrete + steel reinforced bar (rebar) = reinforced concrete (what is being used in this design course)  
> There’s lots of different ways to mix and match and change the strengths and resulting look of these materials. You can add pigment, expose aggregate, change the unit weights, it’s quite fascinating stuff, really. Either way if you get anything out of this author’s note please do not ever call concrete cement. I will appear from thin air and slap you and leave.  
> Don’t be a Fideo, this has been my short TED talk.  
> \---  
> Geotechnical report is a soils report that typically details the state of the ground being built on and gives ground improvement suggestions depending on the building to be constructed. This can greatly change what type of building is designed depending on how bad the soils are. To get it this late during a design sucks, but that’s reality for ya.


	10. Week 10 - HW 8: Wind, Seismic & Re-Drafting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Assignment:  
> Civil: Wind and Seismic load testing. Print out analyses results for the design package.  
> Architectural: Finalize design plans.  
> Assignment due Sunday night (10:00 PM), no class next week. PDF only. 

Kazemaru was hurrying across campus as fast as his feet could carry him. He had had a feeling of foreboding all day but chalked it up to being a worrywart overall. He should’ve known something was up when he had gotten two coffees at once from the vending machine and used up all his luck for the week. Just as the anxious boy was thinking about this, his phone rang. At least it wasn’t a text like the last dozen times his phone had buzzed. Picking up after checking the caller ID, he spoke in between breaths as he ran. 

“Kidou, did they contact you, too? Those fools….I’m heading there right now.” 

\---

The two groups were clustered inside the computer lab again. Fubuki and Endou looked absolutely wiped, having just dealt with their final round of midterms. Aphrodi and Rococo also didn’t look so great, having finished up some reports and project drafts. The huge workload that had been placed on them this week meant that it was easy for assignments to slip through the cracks. Such as right now when they had collectively realized that the assignment due date had been changed due to the lack of a class next week. 

Aphrodi was staring at his phone screen, checking the last time Kazemaru had read his desperate SOS texts.

* * *

Aphrodi: ヾ(;ﾟДﾟ;)ｼ KAZEMARU

Aphrodi: ARE YOU HERE CAN I CALL YOU

Kazemaru: Please don’t call me. What’s wrong?

Aphrodi: DID YOU FINISH THE ASS THIS WEEK ?

Aphrodi: DEADLINE GOT MOVED 

Aphrodi: WE DIDN’T KNOW

Aphrodi: ,､’`( ꒪Д꒪),､’`’`,､ KAZE MARU

Kazemaru: Oh no.

Aphrodi: KAZEMARU PLEASE

Kazemaru: It took Kidou and I 8 hours.

Aphrodi: OH NO 

Aphrodi: ITS GOING TO TAKE US 16

Kazemaru: Where are you.

Aphrodi: COMP LAB

Aphrodi: ε=ε=(っ*´□`)っ PLES SAVE US

* * *

Kazemaru hadn’t responded after that last text and Aphrodi was praying with everything he had that the reliable classmate was heading his way and not hopping on a bus to head home. Endou and Fubuki had peppered Kidou with calls and texts in hopes that he had at least half the answers. After the third call Kidou had curtly answered with “Stop it, I’m coming” and hung up on them. 

“I can’t believe it’s due tomorrow and we didn’t realize,” Aphrodi lamented as he ran his hand through his hair for the hundredth time. Fubuki and him had been dutifully putting the project on the back burner while trying to complete their other assignments. It was only when Fubuki had finally opened one of his 1652 unread emails and saw the change of due date email that panic had struck. Aphrodi felt like crying into Fubuki’s back, he needed it at the moment. 

“Kazemaru said it took them 8 hours?” Rococo asked sadly from where he was trying to CAT as fast as he could. “We’re doomed.” 

“I know,” Aphrodi blinked away the tears around his eyes. He wasn’t sure if they were from grief or eyestrain. He went back to transferring the finalized designs from last week into CAT. Luckily there weren’t too many changes, but it still took time to redo so many little things. The shortcuts he had taken last time in the drawing had come back to bite him in the ass. 

“Endou, do you have a copy of the seismic code on you?” A very stressed Fubuki asked as he came back into the computer lab. “I just went to the library and they don’t have it, it got checked out earlier today.” 

“I have a PDF copy of the out-of-date code from 2 years ago,” Endou offered hopefully. “I can’t imagine earthquakes would have changed in 2 years, right?” 

“You’d think so, but they like to put out new codes and make money off of them for a reason,” Fubuki stiffly replied as he sat back down in front of a computer. “Well for now let’s work on the wind loads portion and make sure our building doesn’t blow over.” Silence descended over the group as each one focused on the portion they could handle on the assignment. Aphrodi was starting to lose hope as the clock ticked when he caught sight of a familiar group walking towards them from the window in the lab door. 

“Kazemaru and Kidou are here!” Aphrodi now understood the tears in his eyes were from happiness. The rest of the group hurriedly looked up to see their saviors walk in through the door. 

“I came here as fast as I could but met up with Kidou halfway and we went to turn in our homeworks first,” Kazemaru breathlessly explained as he came in. “Sorry about that, but we’re here to help now.” 

“You’re my favorite person in the world right now,” Aphrodi gratefully called out to Kazemaru. “Please help. We can’t get the hatch layers to work right.”

“Oh yeah, that happened to me, too. Let me take a look.” Kazemaru dragged over a chair and sat between Aphrodi and Rococo to guide them through the pitfalls he had experienced during the refining draft. 

“Kidou are you holding the seismic code book?” Endou asked in wonder as he glimpsed the small brown hardcover that was slightly covered by his cape. 

“Yeah, I was going to go return it when I got your calls so I just brought it with me.” 

“You have no idea how much we appreciate you right now!” Endou gratefully responded as he took the slim book from him. 

“I think I have an idea but you’ll appreciate me more when I walk you through it.”

“You’ll do that for us?!” Fubuki was surprised by this. Usually Kidou didn’t give out answers until they had at least tried a bit on their own.

“I can’t have you guys staying here until 2AM on my conscience, so I’ll just help you along this one time.” Kidou also felt like rushing them through the process with him guiding them was easier than fielding their texts and calls for the rest of the night.

“Kidou...you’re a real bro.” Endou reached out and clasped Kidou’s forearm in thanks. “Now where should we start?” 

Sighing, Kidou also pulled up a chair between the two and started flipping through the code book to the correct section to start on. 

\---

Sitting outside the burrito shop that had just closed, the three groups huddled near each other for warmth while they ate a very late dinner. Kidou and Kazemaru’s meals had been gratefully paid for by their dutiful classmates, trying to return the favor of finishing their assignment in record time. 

“You two are living together?” Kazemaru asked in surprise upon learning of Fubuki’s current housing situation. This made a lot more sense now because Fubuki had been quietly fussing over Aphrodi this whole time while they were sitting outside. A normally insufferable Aphrodi was twice as insufferable around Fubuki. Because of the cold night wind Aphrodi had just taken off his jacket and draped it around the two of them. The shocker here was that Fubuki hadn’t even protested and had continued stoically munching on his burrito. 

“Yeah, it’s been great I’ve been eating and sleeping better,” Aphrodi responded as he reached over and tried a bite of Fubuki’s burrito. It was the same burrito, but he was curious. 

“Sleeping in the same bed?” Kazemaru cautiously asked. He was looking rapidly between the two of them as Fubuki elbowed Aphrodi away. Aphrodi then surreptitiously snaked a hand around the quiet boy’s waist. 

“Yeah. I only got one bed,” Aphrodi responded as he delicately tried to peel off the burrito wrapper with one hand. It wasn’t going too well. Fubuki sighed and reached over to peel it for him. 

“Are you two….going out?” 

The chatter floating around the little group immediately dropped as everyone honed in on the sudden question. Aphrodi had let go of Fubuki who suddenly had color in his previously waxy face. Endou’s eyes were wide with curiosity while Rococo seemed to be sizing up the situation. Kidou’s expression was unreadable behind the goggles but by how he had almost dropped his burrito on the floor, he was definitely surprised.

“We are not--”

“That’s a nice thought--”

Fubuki and Aphrodi both responded at the same time, then stopped, glancing at each other in mutual surprise. 

“Aphrodi is just helping me out. His apartment is small so we’re sharing a bed.” Fubuki decidedly clarified. Aphrodi didn’t say anything, eyes now cold and staring into the distance as he munched on his food. It tasted like ashes in his mouth now. 

“Oh I see, sorry for making that assumption…” Kazemaru really felt like he had used up his luck for the year now. 

Neither of the two said anything in response. The rest of the group was rapidly trying to figure out the situation. Rococo had thought the two were already an item. Endou had figured they were just really good friends. Kidou was thinking about what alcohol to get Kazemaru after this meal. 

“It’s getting late,” Fubuki announced as he finished his burrito and took Aphrodi’s discarded wrapper from the boy’s hand and went to throw their trash away. Aphrodi quietly put his jacket back on and brushed himself off while getting up.

“We’re going to head back home first, see you all tomorrow in class. And thanks again for the help, Kidou, Kazemaru.” Fubuki called out to the rest of them who were also taking this as a cue to leave. 

A chorus of “goodnights” and “no worries” echoed as they all dispersed from each other. Fubuki walked back to where they had parked earlier and waited while Aphrodi caught up in his fashionably heeled but uncomfortable shoes. It was only when they were halfway through the drive back that Fubuki realized something was off. Aphrodi hadn’t talked the whole time. Aphrodi, who normally would not shut up under any circumstances, was dead silent. 

Fubuki glanced over at the unnervingly quiet Aphrodi driving smoothly through the streets. He had gotten to know Aphrodi well enough through their bout of living together to know that something was wrong. The flighty boy never got this upset unless it was after a call from his parents. The situation felt even worse when they parked and Aphrodi still hadn’t spoken by the time they clustered into his apartment. 

Aphrodi was doing his very best to control his emotions at the moment. He was trying to focus on what was at hand. The impulsive side of him wanted to cling to Fubuki while crying and ask why he couldn’t be an object of affection. The one rational cell in his body was telling him this was an awful idea since Fubuki was relying on him for a place to stay. This would put the poor boy in a terrible spot with nowhere to go if he rejected Aphrodi. If Fubuki said he liked Aphrodi but only said it to have a place to stay, Aphrodi figured he could be classified as the worst scum of the Earth by abusing the situation. Using far more brain power than normal, Aphrodi thought he was acting as usual but was unknowingly stressing Fubuki out by not being the capricious idiot he typically was. 

By the time the two of them were getting ready for bed, Fubuki couldn’t stand the silence anymore. For someone who had lived in a silent home for almost his whole life, Fubuki realized with surprise that he had gotten used to Aphrodi’s incessant chatter. Sitting on the bed while watching Aphrodi go through his bedtime routine, he decided to bring it up before they slept. 

“Aphrodi.”

“Hm?” Aphrodi pulled himself out of his thoughts and glanced over at Fubuki while brushing his teeth. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Huh??” Aphrodi finished rinsing out his mouth and turned around in puzzlement. 

“Aphrodi, come here.” Not used to being directly ordered like this, Aphrodi obediently walked over in confusion.

“You’ve been quiet ever since we left the group. What’s on your mind? I can’t sleep easy like this.” Aphrodi’s overworked brain was starting to go through civil war. Staring at an exhausted but concerned Fubuki in front of him, the rational cell in his body was instantly incinerated. 

“I…” Aphrodi hesitated, then voiced his thoughts. “Am I no good?”

“What?!” Fubuki didn’t understand what was happening. Self doubt did not suit Aphrodi’s lifestyle, so this was extremely unexpected. He had been expecting a confession about how Aphrodi wanted a new pair of expensive pants but already had five similar ones. 

Aphrodi’s brain was gone at this point. He had never been the one giving the confession, having always been confessed to. Perks of being a pretty boy were always being on the receiving end. The downside of this was that he had no idea how to confess, and he was now desperately running through past confessions he had heard to try to come up with one that wouldn’t corner Fubuki. 

“Is it not possible...for us to be going out?” The world’s least eloquent confession left his lips. Aphrodi wanted to die at this very moment. 

Fubuki stared up at him in shock, then realized what was happening. Aphrodi had been so quiet because he had been bothered by Kazemaru's statement and Fubuki’s response. Fubuki felt like taking the pillow next to him and smacking this self-important fool. Not everyone had to be an object of affection for him…! 

“It’s not like…you’re no good,” Fubuki carefully responded, “but I haven’t been seeing you in that way.” Aphrodi’s crestfallen expression threatened to yank on his heartstrings but Fubuki had to hold strong against this playboy. 

“What if....I told you I liked you,” Aphrodi suddenly blurted out. His head made no sense anymore, not after processing what Fubuki had told him. 

“Aphrodi, do you like me? No ‘what if’s’ here.” Fubuki was also trying to process all of this at the same time, too. He had thought that Aphrodi had plenty to choose from, seeing his phone blowing up all the time with notifications. He knew that Aphrodi had definitely played around in the past and Fubuki was a dull stone compared to all the other gems he had seen. Aphrodi liking him was so far out of his orbit that he hadn’t entertained the thought for more than a few minutes...at a time…

Aphrodi was playing with his hair, quiet and struggling internally on what to say.  _ No, of course not, that was just a joke. _ He could laugh it off, smile and keep Fubuki company until they graduated and continue acting as a stupid playboy.  _ Maybe it was for the best to keep things the same... _

“Aphrodi.” The firmness in the gentle boy’s voice made him look up and into Fubuki’s teal eyes. There was a steely look in them now which made Aphrodi understand that he had already crossed an invisible line. 

“Yes.” Aphrodi quietly replied. “But I won’t mind if you feel otherwise.” A chivalrous lie. If Fubuki rejected him Aphrodi was going to show up at Kazemaru’s apartment shortly and cry nonstop. He couldn’t look Fubuki in the eye, every second that passed made it harder and harder for him to breathe. 

“I see. I’ll think about it.”

**_THINK ABOUT IT._** Aphrodi really decided he didn’t want to live anymore. This was the worst response to a confession he’d ever heard. His stricken expression made Fubuki reach out and catch his arm. 

“I’m sorry, this is a lot right now. I need some time, but please trust me.” Fubuki’s eyes were conflicted but worried. Aphrodi was always one for action and not thinking things through. He had to keep a sharp eye on him for the next few days so this pretty boy didn’t just waste away in anxiety and do something stupid. 

“Aphrodi.” 

The wilting potential object of affection sadly looked back at him. 

“Let’s go to bed and both of us think about it, alright?” Fubuki gently guided him to the side of the bed and patted it. 

“It’s late. Come on.” He got into bed and looked expectantly at Aphrodi who finally moved into the bed. Unable to feel anything anymore, Aphrodi laid stiffly on his side of the bed and gazed at the blank ceiling overhead. Emotions were unknown to him now, he was done with life.

To his surprise, Fubuki rolled over and gently hugged him from the side. 

“Sorry, I just need some time. Goodnight.” 

Emotions came back to Aphrodi in full force. He wanted to cry with how Fubuki was playing with his heart. Pushing and pulling weren’t his strong suits, preferring to directly march ahead. Now he was marching in a confused circle. Unable to do much with the problem draped over him, he closed his eyes and ignored his senses as best as he could to fall into a fitful sleep. The last thing he remembered before drifting off was that he had forgotten to finish his hair care routine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t intend to ship Kazemaru and Kidou here, I put them together as a group because I needed to emulate that one reliable group in a project course that always has their shit together. Y'know the one that has the assignment done before it's even assigned. There's always that one group.


	11. Week 11 - No Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**  
>  No class.

“So you’re saying, you confessed to him, and then he told you he’d think about it, and he’s been acting normal since? And you’ve also been ‘trying’ to act normal?” Kazemaru carefully asked the hot mess currently sobbing on his floor. 

“YES,” a distraught Aphrodi replied. With no one to turn to, he had sought out Kazemaru’s patient help and advice four days after his confession. He felt like he had the patience of a saint at this point and couldn’t take it any longer. Aphrodi really needed to let out his emotions to someone who would listen.

Kazemaru was sorely regretting his life choices at the moment. Having received a text from Aphrodi asking if he could come over (with food), he had figured it was probably just to thank him for last time and maybe ask some more project questions. Allowing Aphrodi in had been his first mistake, and now that he had eaten the food brought he was obligated to listen and try to help. He was currently kicking himself for realizing so late that there was no assignment this week due to no class. 

“And this whole time he has still been taking care of you.” Kazemaru clarified his previous question.

“YES…” Aphrodi pulled out a Vivienne Westwood handkerchief and wiped his disgusting mess of a face with it. “He still cooks and does the laundry and cleans...it’s like nothing has changed.”

Kazemaru was seriously debating how much he needed this friendship right now. Settling on the fact that losing Aphrodi as a friend wasn’t losing very much, he decided to tell the truth.

“Aphrodi, do you realize that you have no real merits as a potential partner?” he asked with a sigh.

“WHAT.” Aphrodi couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was rich, pretty, good-looking...what else…

“Fubuki is like your mom right now, do you realize that? You’d contribute nothing to a relationship.” Kazemaru was stabbing him right where it hurt, and boy did it hurt. Gazing levelly at the pathetic figure lying next to his bed, Kazemaru felt a pang of guilt for being so harsh on him.

“You have to market yourself to him better, Aphrodi. Like take him on a date or something. Or maybe clean up after yourself so he’s not doing it for you. Prove to him that you’re a good potential partner.” Kazemaru was talking out of his ass, having not been in a serious relationship before, but this was all common sense that Aphrodi definitely lacked. 

“Ok…a date….” Somehow the pretty boy’s takeaway had been the least important piece of advice out of the entire batch. 

“Fubuki’s sort of busy, maybe you should do something that won’t take as much time.” Kazemaru threw in a desperate bid to help Fubuki out. Engineering students didn’t have time for this shit. 

“Like whattttt?” Aphrodi was starting to sniffle again. Kazemaru resisted the urge to throw him out on the street. He had a project to finish. 

“Why don’t you cook him something nice. Something simple to apologize for all the trouble you’ve caused him. Maybe talk it out over a meal.” 

Aphrodi laid on the floor, trying not to think about the last time Kazemaru had vacuumed now that he felt better. Cooking…he could try that. Something simple to show his appreciation for Fubuki and to prove that he wasn’t a good-looking but useless waste of space at the moment. 

“Thanks Kazemaru, that’s a good idea,” he said as he peeled himself off the floor. Pulling together the pieces of him strewn around the room, he glanced back up at the one peeking brown eye that was watching him carefully. “I’ll go back and cook him something nice, and clean up after myself and stuff. Thanks for the advice, I knew you’d be able to help.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kazemaru’s politeness kicked in, “I don’t mind.” He actually really did mind and wished he didn’t have a reputation for being a good listener, but consoled himself with the fact that the meal had been over $10. 

Aphrodi nodded gratefully then headed out the door as Kazemaru trailed behind him. Just to make sure Aphrodi really did leave and didn’t get second thoughts to come back and keep talking at him. Watching the black BMW cruise off onto the streets, he felt a pang of sympathy for Fubuki having to handle this disaster. 

\---

Fubuki was sitting outside the engineering library on a stone bench that was extremely familiar to him by now. Gazing up at the clear sky ahead, he felt a strong sense of deja vu. Just like last time, the last person he wanted to see right now was Aphrodi. 

Aphrodi...he hadn’t expected a confession like that at all. There was a limit to being a playboy, but he knew that in that moment Aphrodi had been entirely sincere. The boy had seemed so small and vulnerable...sides of himself that he rarely ever showed. Fubuki reached up and ruffled his hair that now smelled like Aphrodi’s expensive shampoo and sighed to himself. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t physically attracted to Aphrodi. The impractical man was handsome with a good figure and knew how to flatter himself with style. There were times he had felt like punting the Barbie boy...but he also knew how kind and caring Aphrodi really was underneath his foolish exterior. 

He knew that if he rejected Aphrodi, the receiver would take it badly internally but would also continue to care for him as a friend. Watching Aphrodi over the past few days had been bad for his heart. The poor boy was doing his best to act normal but felt more like a rapidly dying plant. It had already been four days since Aphrodi’s confession, he really owed him an answer by now. He thought back to the long nights they had spent together, sometimes chatting softly before he fell asleep in Aphrodi’s arms. He hadn’t had nightmares since, and being around such an excessive personality had been a strangely comfortable experience. Fubuki had found himself looking forward to each day. What to cook, what to say, the stories to tell Aphrodi over the dinner they shared…

_ Isn’t it as if we’re already dating? _ Fubuki realized with a start. Sparrows flew overhead again, and he followed them with a pensive gaze. Making up his mind, he finally let out a deep breath and got up to bike home to cook lunch. 

\---

Aphrodi felt like he was in the middle of a murder scene. Figuring pasta would be an easy and simple dish to make, he had dug around the pantry and found some pasta sauce and spaghetti. Meatballs were microwaveable, that was easy enough. Although when he had done it and forgotten to cover them with a paper towel, half of them had turned out slightly hardened on the exterior. Even worse, in the process of adding the pasta sauce to the cooked spaghetti he had messed up and gotten it everywhere. Luckily, enough had made it into the pot for a decent enough sauce to spaghetti ratio, but he was now on his hands and knees cleaning up the rest of the mess. Focused on the task at hand, he missed hearing the door click open as someone came in.

Fubuki’s first instinct was to go and open the windows because of how dense the smoke and steam was in the apartment. His second instinct was to rush to Aphrodi, who was on the floor with red stuff around him. 

“Aphrodi! Are you alright? What happened? Are you bleeding?” Halfway through the last question Fubuki finally focused on what the stuff on the floor was and realized it was pasta sauce. Speechless, he looked around the wrecked kitchen from where he was bent down next to Aphrodi to try and figure out what had happened. An explosion?!

“Fubuki! Ah...you’re back earlier than I thought,” Aphrodi sheepishly responded. “Sorry about the mess, I’ll clean it up.” He got up and picked up some more paper towels from the counter and then dropped back down to wipe up the spots on the ground.

“Let me help,” Fubuki hurriedly did the same but found himself blocked by Aphrodi. 

“No, let me do it! You just wait over there.” Aphrodi gestured at the dining table and took the paper towels from his hand. 

Baffled, Fubuki decided to do as he was told and settled down nervously at the dining table. It took everything in him to not jump up every time Aphrodi almost slipped or dropped something. Normally graceful, the boy turned into an absolute klutz in the kitchen. After what seemed like an eternity, Aphrodi came to the table haphazardly balancing two plates of spaghetti and meatballs. 

“Here,” he breathlessly placed the plate in front of Fubuki. “I made lunch.” 

“Thank you…” Fubuki stared at the plate in front of him. He had never even seen nor eaten Aphrodi’s cooking before. Wondering what brought this about, he got up and went to get silverware for the two of them. Aphrodi didn’t have anything left in him to protest at this point and watched as Fubuki brought over some napkins as well. 

Fubuki sat back down and bit into a meatball. It was...hard on the outside, how did that even happen?! Aphrodi was eating his portion with a melancholy mood. He had wanted to get this all done before Fubuki had come back, but had timed things badly and also ended up making a mess that he had been caught in. Avoiding eye contact, he twisted a few strands of his hair nervously around his fingers as he ate. Lately, nothing tasted good to him, and he just hoped that he hadn’t managed to badly mess up pre-made pasta sauce.

The familiar nervous habit of Aphrodi’s caught Fubuki’s eye and he instantly felt guilty for having kept him on the hook for so long now. Having already resolved to give his answer when he came back, he had been distracted by the sight of Aphrodi cooking. Finishing his meal first, he waited for Aphrodi to finish his own and then took both their plates to the sink. Aphrodi had protested but Fubuki pushed him firmly back into his seat with a “Wait right here.” 

Aphrodi felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, and it wasn’t because of the badly cooked spaghetti. Watching Fubuki bustle around the kitchen, his stomach felt like it was about to knot up from anxiety. He was nervously sweating by the time Fubuki came back holding two cups of barley tea. 

“Are you alright? Were you so hungry you suddenly decided to cook?” Fubuki was extremely concerned as he handed Aphrodi a cup of tea. Aphrodi hesitated, then took the cup as he turned over different answers in his head.

“I wanted to cook something for you...since you always cook for me.” A strand of hair snapped in his fingers and he let it quickly fall to the floor. Aphrodi’s shedding had gotten really bad over the past few days. Fubuki had worried over it but knew he was the contributing factor so hadn’t been able to speak up about it. 

“Thank you. Maybe next time I cook you can help me, that way you can learn as we go.” Fubuki replied with a smile. He wasn’t going to ever forget the crunchy meatballs.

_ Next time...next time?!  _ Confusion showed on Aphrodi’s face, and Fubuki readied himself to voice what he had decided on in his heart.

“Aphrodi...were you serious when you said you liked me?” He wanted to confirm, just one last time. Aphrodi had gone perfectly still, like a harried but beautiful Greek statue. 

“I was. And I still am.” The statue nervously replied. Fubuki leaned back quietly in his seat as he looked at Aphrodi who was carefully trying to avoid looking back into his eyes. 

“I like you, too.” 

Aphrodi stiffened in surprise as he heard the response, having fully prepared his heart to be rejected and already calculating how long it would take to drive back to Kazemaru’s place. 

“You like me?”

“Yes.” Fubuki sighed and leaned forward onto the table. “I thought about it for a long time, I know I’ve left you hanging for days and I’m sorry for that. But I enjoy living with you and the time I spend with you. The more I thought about it the more it felt like we were already dating…” he trailed off as Aphrodi finally looked back up at him, tears in his eyes. 

SIlence hung over them as Fubuki hesitated, then got up from his side of the table and went over to Aphrodi’s side to give him a gentle hug, then an even gentler kiss on the lips. Aphrodi froze up at this bold move, then relaxed while blinking away his tears. Cherubs seemed to be floating in the air all around him while trumpeting on golden horns, but his vision was quickly obscured by silver hair as Fubuki hugged him tight. 


	12. Week 12 - HW 9: Testing & Redesign

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Assignment:  
> Civil: Testing new load cases. (Load case information in course files. Run all iterations and include printout in the design package.)  
> Architectural: Final design adjustment. (Refer to Civil assignment.)  
> Assignment due next week, electronic submission. PDF only. 

Aphrodi was on absolute cloud nine. He loved Fubuki and Fubuki loved him. He wished he could get rid of all his school obligations and stick like a nice leech onto Fubuki, but unfortunately they both really needed to graduate. Their brief times apart were made up through cuddling in bed together, eating together, and generally just being near each other. Aphrodi was extremely satisfied with all of these developments except for one thing.

“Why are you telling me this.” An exasperated Kazemaru was sitting next to Aphrodi in the computer lab and heartily facepalming. 

“No one else really knows our situation! And you’re the only one who knows both of us well.” Aphrodi protested as he continued CATing while talking. 

“You said you needed help in CAT, not in your love life. I’m going to leave.” He should’ve known that this was a trap when the text from Aphrodi included no emojis and proper punctuation.

“Nooooo Kazemaru please, your advice was so good last time I was hoping you’d have advice this time, too. Also I can’t get my lines to snap right so I do have a CAT problem.” Aphrodi let go of his mouse as Kazemaru leaned over to the computer with an angry sigh and clicked through the snap dialogue for him. 

“There. I’ve fixed it and I’m leaving now.” 

“Kazemaru noooo what if I run into another problem after this! I’m going to text you nonstop.” Aphrodi begged for him to stay, his advice would be extremely useful in his current predicament. 

“OK fine, you have 10 minutes.” Kazemaru glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall. “After that I’m leaving since I need to go get lunch.” 

“Thank youuu,” Aphrodi cried out as he continued CATing while complaining, a true feat of multitasking. “So anyways, I’m so happy right now but Fubuki hasn’t made a move on me AT ALL. I can’t take it anymore!” 

The look on Kazemaru’s face scared off a couple freshman walking by the outside of the computer lab. 

“Right. And have you talked to him about this?” Kazemaru monotonically replied. Every time he talked to Aphrodi his stock of alcohol at home would inevitably decrease. 

“Noooo. I don’t want to push him into things, I mean he already said he likes me back, so I’d think-” 

“Yeah, the problem is your thinking is really different from his thinking, so you guys should talk about this.” Kazemaru cut off the pathetic pretty boy. “As I’m saying, communication is key and no, do not ask me to ask him for you, you LIVE together.” He had caught the dangerous glint in Aphrodi’s eye as the stupid boy had misunderstood what Kazemaru meant as usual. 

“But-” Aphrodi’s next line was cut off as the computer lab door opened and Fubuki came in with Kidou trailing behind him. 

“Oh Aphrodi! And Kazemaru, hello.” Fubuki greeted both of them with a smile as he came over to their corner. “Are you two working on the redesign?” 

“We were,” Kazemaru hurriedly answered before Aphrodi could botch up some stupid lie. “At least I was helping Aphrodi troubleshoot some parts of CAT.” He glanced over to see Aphrodi basically making moon eyes at Fubuki in pure adoration. Knowing that he wasn’t needed anymore, he got up and picked up his bag.

“I’m going to go get lunch, Kidou are you staying around the lab?”

“I am, Fubuki and I are here to run through the new testing models.” 

“Ah alright, I’ll catch up with you guys another time. Good luck!” Kazemaru left the three of them there, his ‘good luck’ had been more directed at Kidou for having to third-wheel this one-sidedly sappy couple. 

Kidou got the hint and avoided saying anything about the potential relationship status of the pair next to him as they worked through the current project assignment. Having received some new load test cases from Hitomiko, they had to run through a new structural analysis and then fix any parts of the building that would fail under the test loads. He did wish Kazemaru had stuck around so they could fix things in real time but he couldn’t blame the flighty boy for avoiding the possible couple next to him after last time. 

There was no real time for flirting under these circumstances, though, as a few test cases failed and the structure had to be partially redesigned. Despite being head over heels for Fubuki, Aphrodi’s ability to focus and get things done if it meant going home on time together for dinner was commendable. 

“Do you want to go back to that sushi place?” Aphrodi asked Fubuki as they walked back to the car after finishing the assignment. Lunch was long past, having only eaten a quick sandwich split between the two of them that Aphrodi had gone to fetch mid-assignment. He reached over and snuck his hand into Fubuki’s grasp, gripping it with a soft squeeze and tossing the pensive boy a teasing smile. 

“That place is a little expensive, why don’t we go somewhere else?” Fubuki didn’t slip away from his hand, but wasn’t looking at him either. Aphrodi followed his gaze and saw him gazing at a family playing in the park in the distance. 

“Alright, how about the noodle place near it? We could go home and then walk over for dinner.” Aphrodi desperately wanted Fubuki to turn his gaze to him, but didn’t know how to do so without seeming overbearing and demanding. His normally overconfident self was in shambles at the moment.

“That’s fine, but I’m paying for my portion.” Fubuki finally turned his head and smiled back at him. Aphrodi’s heart melted at the rare sight but it still didn’t feel at ease.  _ What if Fubuki really wanted a family? They were both men...adoption? Marriage?  _ He’d been in past relationships with other men but they had never brought up these questions in his mind. Holding Fubuki’s hand tight, he focused on warming up the cold boy on their short walk to the car.

\---

Things were made worse when Aphrodi noticed Fubuki kept staring at some of the male workers at the noodle shop. Aphrodi was sorely regretting his noodle shop suggestion and glared at the uniformed workers unhappily. Conversation centered around the project sprinkled with some speculation about what the rest of the assignments would be as the end of the semester was rapidly approaching. 

“Less than a month before we graduate, huh.” Fubuki said with a sigh as he stirred the sauce into his noodles. “And yet I can’t seem to catch a break from any of my courses. You’ve been up late recently, too.”

“Yeah I’ve had to rush a few dioramas, but I’m trying to pace myself now so I can match your sleep schedule better,” Aphrodi replied through a mouthful of noodles. Fubuki laughed, his boyfriend looked like a chipmunk with some sauce smeared on the cheeks. He reached over and dabbed off the extra sauce with a napkin. 

“Slow down, you must’ve been so hungry. That half sandwich wasn’t enough for either of us,” Fubuki chastised. 

“It was the fastest thing I could get,” Aphrodi defended himself, “I’ve been hungry for hours now, but I wanted to finish so we could head home together.” 

“You should’ve told me, although I could sort of tell by how you stopped talking near the end.” 

“Ah…” Embarrassed by his behavior, Aphrodi focused on eating the rest of his noodles. He was currently conflicted by all of Fubuki’s behavior he had observed today, but remembered Kazemaru’s advice. _ I should just talk to him directly...what am I so afraid of? _

Both of them were starving before this meal which meant that they quickly finished and headed back to their apartment. Walking hand in hand with Fubuki, Aphrodi stared up at the starry sky overhead. Gentle clouds drifted through, blocking out some of the view but he could still see some familiar constellations. Thinking that it was hard to see a lot of the stars here due to light pollution, he glanced over at Fubuki who was navigating the uneven sidewalk. Maybe sometime he could take Fubuki out to the mountains and they could stargaze at night…

Fubuki noticed his gaze and looked back over at him curiously. Before he could ask, Aphrodi leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Fubuki’s lips were still chapped, having fallen out of the habit of using chapstick since he lost his a while back. Blushing at this unexpected and bold move out in the open, he pushed Aphrodi back in surprise. 

“Ah, sorry.” Aphrodi let go of his hand and stepped back a bit, playing with his hair again and walking a bit faster. 

“Aphrodi, wait, I was just surprised,” he called out after the hurt boy. Hurrying his pace, he caught up to Aphrodi and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m just not used to this…”

“It’s OK,” but Aphrodi’s tone conveyed a different meaning. “If you’re not comfortable with it, it’s alright.” 

“It was just out in public...it was unexpected.” Fubuki helplessly trailed off as they reached their apartment. 

“You don’t need to explain,” Aphrodi unlocked the door and went in before Fubuki could see his expression. “I’m going to go finish up a diorama.” With that said, he dumped his belongings on the side and went to the restroom to clean himself up. Or cry a little bit, but Fubuki didn’t need to know that last part. 

Fubuki stared at the closed bathroom door with worry, running his hand around his wrist. He shook off his own nervous habit and went to the dining table where he pulled out the homework he needed to finish for the night. 

\---

_ Seems like I observe a lot of things from this bed _ , Fubuki thought to himself as he watched Aphrodi get ready for bed. The Barbie boy was too quiet again, and was definitely bothered by something but wasn’t saying it. Waiting for his lover, Fubuki absentmindedly picked off long blonde strands of hair from the bed and dropped them into the trashcan within arms reach. Having found a particularly long strand, he was holding it up to check just how long it really was when a shadow cast over him. 

“Oh, Aphrodi, are you ready for bed?” Fubuki asked in surprise as he looked up at the figure blocking out the lamplight.

“Yeah…”Aphrodi’s voice trailed off, but he pushed himself to communicate. “Do you mind...if I hugged you right now?”

Fubuki didn’t understand why Aphrodi was asking for permission after hugging him while sleeping for a solid month at this point, but he nodded with bewilderment. Aphrodi pushed him down onto the bed, burrowing his face into Fubuki’s warm chest.  _ OH this type of hug… _ Fubuki realized in surprise. He hesitated, then reached a hand up and patted Aphrodi’s head.

“What’s gotten into you today?” He asked gently. Aphrodi remained silent but Fubuki could feel that his body temperature was lower than normal, the boy was stressed.

“Fubuki...what type of guy are you into normally?”

“WHAT?”

Aphrodi didn’t lift his face out of Fubuki’s chest. If he looked at Fubuki now he didn’t want to know what type of expression would be showing on his face. 

“Just tell me, I want to know.” 

Fubuki stared at the figure clinging to him, thinking about what might have brought this on. 

“I...I don’t really have a type, it’s usually if we get along or not personality wise.” He didn’t want to put pressure on Aphrodi to look or be like anyone else, he liked Aphrodi for who he was. 

“I see…” Aphrodi’s muffled voice tickled his stomach and he had to resist the urge to laugh out of reflex. The boy was so tense...he resumed patting Aphrodi’s head, figuring this might help calm him down. Fubuki waited patiently for whatever Aphrodi had to say, he trusted him to say it given time. 

Aphrodi steeled himself, then finally asked the question that had been on his mind.

“Do you mind...going to bed with me?” He was trying to voice his worries as delicately as possible. That he had been worried about Fubuki wanting an actual family, or that Fubuki wasn’t physically attracted to him, or...a lot of things were on his mind. 

“We’re...in bed? Right now-OH.” Realization dawned on Fubuki as to what Aphrodi was asking for. Furiously blushing, now he was the one glad that Aphrodi wasn’t looking at him. Mind scrambling, he wasn’t sure how to best respond at the moment. 

“I don’t mind but I don’t think I’m ready…”

“Am I not your type in bed?” he could hear the sadness in Aphrodi’s voice. Flustered, Fubuki realized he had to clarify the situation as quickly as he could.

“No, no you’re fine, I mean you’re very fine but...I don’t...I don’t have any experience.” 

“Oh.” Aphrodi looked up in surprise, he had expected that for Fubuki to know his sexuality he must’ve already tried some things. Fubuki’s face was beet red in response. “Oh, I thought...oh my god I’m sorry.” He started to let go of Fubuki and peel himself off, but Fubuki reached up and grabbed his arm, pulling him back into his chest. 

“Stay like this for a little while, I’m too embarrassed to look at you,” Aphrodi could hear the rapid thumping of Fubuki’s heart. He felt massively guilty right now for cornering Fubuki like this. He had to explain himself.

“I’m sorry,” Aphrodi repeated, “I guess...I was worried since nothing’s changed since we really started officially dating. And today you kept looking at other people, I was starting to feel a bit...insecure.” He felt silly saying all this out loud and re-buried his head in Fubuki’s chest. 

“Oh.” Fubuki realized he had been gazing at others all day but that was because he had been thinking about Aphrodi. “About that...I was just wondering if you would rather have a normal family…”

“Fubuki!” Aphrodi shot back up and placed his hands on Fubuki’s cheeks. “I’m the one who confessed to you first!”

“Agh! I know! But just...you haven’t really dated other men before, I was worried…” Aphrodi had a chance at a normal family, have kids, settle down, do what normal people did.

“Fubuki, even if I did want one, I’d want one with YOU.”  _ Ah _ , the words that Fubuki had always wanted to hear but had never been able to ask for. Aphrodi’s fierce red eyes seemed to stare directly into his soul. Reaching up, he brushed aside the stray strands of hair that had fallen forward from his lover’s head.

“I love you,” Fubuki gently called out to him. Aphrodi had seemed so far earlier despite being physically close, but now Fubuki was confident they understood each other. Aphrodi hesitated, then let a hand slip under Fubuki’s shirt without looking away. If doubt appeared in those eyes he’d immediately stop. Fubuki’s gaze was expectant, and Aphrodi leaned down and started with a gentle kiss on his lover’s lips.

\---

“Who are you texting?” 

Aphrodi rolled over to see Fubuki watching him sleepily, having been woken up by the cursed shaft of morning light that always escaped through the crack in the curtains. His lover, who had been so cute and shy at the start of his first time. He dropped the phone and leaned into the warm bare chest and gave it a soft kiss. 

“Hey!”

“I couldn’t resist, you’re right here.” 

“No more. I’m tired and have class in a bit.” Fubuki pushed him off, then sighed and wrapped an arm around his lover that had just leaned back in. 

“Yesterday…” Aphrodi started.

Fubuki blushed, thinking about what had happened last night. He didn’t want to talk about it. Yet.

“When we were at the noodle place, you kept looking at the workers and I was getting jealous.” Aphrodi was gazing directly at him this time, curious.

“Oh.” Fubuki reddened even more, remembering why he had done so. “That was...I thought that you might look good in their uniform.”

Aphrodi broke out into a teasing smile and pushed himself up to give Fubuki a kiss on the lips but missed and got his cheek instead. 

“Silly, you made me jealous and look where we are now.” 

“You blonde bastard, I’m getting out of bed.” Fubuki swatted at him but his smile belied the harshness of his words. 

“Mmm.” Aphrodi let him go and rolled onto his back in bed, so warm now without his cold lover beside him. He glanced at his phone, where he had been texting Kazemaru. 

* * *

Aphrodi: (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ KAZE!

Aphrodi: THANKS! YOUR ADVICE IS THE 

Aphrodi: BEST

Aphrodi: ｍ(≧ w ≦)ｍ!!!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Q: Why are they redesigning things so much??  
> A: It just be like that sometimes, when the people who have money can’t make up their minds. Or you just unfortunately find something you forgot. It’s redesign time, sadly, and as Hitomiko said, it’s a realistic course.  
> \---  
> Kazemaru likes to de-stress from his workload with trashy romance novels so he has an inclination to know what NOT to do in a relationship (AKA everything in the trashy romance novels). He’ll never admit that this is why he gives good advice, though. Aphrodi just thinks he’s an amazing relationship guru.


	13. Week 13 - HW 10: Final Drafting Package

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**
> 
> Assignment:  
> Civil: Final structural set submission. Include materials schedules.  
> Architectural: Final architectural set submission.  
> Assignment due next week, electronic submission. PDF only. 

Spring was here, and yet it felt like hell inside the computer lab that had no functional air conditioning to offset the overworked and overheating computers. Clustered together in a now-familiar fashion, two groups conversed in hushed tones on a hot topic of interest.

“I’m telling you, they’re official now.” A harassed Kazemaru tried to explain to the rest of the group. “I haven’t gotten any more midnight texts so I think we’re in the clear.”

“We can’t totally believe it until they tell us themselves,” Rococo countered. “We don’t want a mishap like last time.” 

“You didn’t even get caught in it! I was the one that had to deal with all of that!” Kazemaru exclaimed. Kidou was currently wishing that they could just get on with the project. The programs weren’t going to run themselves, and he wasn’t sure how they had gotten onto this topic. 

The door opened while the group was squabbling quietly amongst themselves, and an effervescent Aphrodi practically flounced into the room. 

“I knew you guys would be here!” He proudly announced as he came over to their corner. “Is it because you guys also saw the assignment email earlier?” 

“Yeah,” Kidou stoically replied. “I’m not sure why you’re so excited about it, but that  _ is _ why we’re here.”

“I’ve just been in a really good mood lately,” Aphrodi enthused. Everyone in the group exchanged glances — Kazemaru’s felt like an  _ I TOLD YOU SO _ glance. 

“Aphrodi, slow down,” Fubuki entered the room, complaining with a wince. For some reason his hips hurt and he wasn’t even the one usually on the receiving end. How Aphrodi could move so easily right now was beyond him. He glanced over to the group to see everyone pointedly staring at their computer screens or phones. Curious, he leaned over to check the assignment that they were looking at. 

“Ah, you’re all here for this too, huh. How far have you guys gotten?” 

“We all just got here,” Endou answered brightly, being the only one who still dared to face him. “We were going to start it up and see how far we can get with the final drafting today. Might take more than just today if we want to make it meet Hitomiko’s requirements, though.”

“It’ll take a while, but mostly for you civil engineers,” Kazemaru added. “We’ve been working on refining our CAT files the whole time, but you guys have been running structural analyses and haven’t fixed many of your drawings.”

“Man, I forgot to do that...it wasn’t in the assignments so it slipped my mind,” Fubuki sighed as he pulled out a chair and settled himself in front of the computer. “I suppose we’ll just have to get started.” He wondered why everyone was avoiding his gaze. Maybe they were all just tired from working on the assignment already. 

Kazemaru tried to focus on finishing up his CAT drawing and putting in the title blocks, but the practically glowing Aphrodi next to him was extremely distracting. He couldn’t even look away at poor Fubuki who seemed oblivious to the fact that his low cut shirt was exposing far too much of his bedroom lifestyle at the moment. _ I’ll just finish as fast as I can _ , Kazemaru thought to himself as he raced through the final paces of the CAT drawing. If there was an error he’d come back and fix it later. Alone. 

Clicks and frustrated sighs filled the room, and soon it was time for the architectural students to leave for class. True to Kazemaru’s observation, the structural drawings were taking a while to revise due to all the scattered changes that had been made in between. 

“We’ll be leaving first,” Aphrodi called out to the forsaken group partners as the architectural students packed up. “Fubuki, let me know when you’re done and I’ll come pick you up.” 

“Alright.” Fubuki was more focused on wrangling Ravit at the moment. Eyes soft, Aphrodi had to hold himself back from planting a kiss on his boyfriend’s fluffy hair. Fubuki was still shy in public and he didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable around friends. Lingering for a moment, he finally followed Kazemaru and Rococo out the room, hoping Fubuki would finish quickly so they could spend more time together.

\---

“We’ll be heading out now,” Kidou told Fubuki as he packed up with Endou already waiting outside the computer lab doors. “You sure you’ve figured out the rest?”

“Yes, I just need to export the schedules,” Fubuki responded as he ruffled his hair in frustration. “It’s taking a bit longer because I messed up some of the bars. But after this I should be good. I already texted Aphrodi so he should be on his way.” 

“That’s good,” Kidou responded with a rare smile. He hesitated, then clasped a hand onto Fubuki’s shoulder. “Congrats by the way.”

“Huh? For what?”

“Just a congratulations. You look much happier now.” Before Fubuki could respond, Kidou had already nodded and left the room with a wave. Trying to figure out what the congrats was for, his phone buzzed to show Aphrodi’s reply. 

* * *

Fubuki: I’m almost done.

Aphrodi: (/^▽^)/ IM COMING BABE

* * *

Fubuki smiled to himself as he walked out of the stuffy computer lab, finally free of that hellish room for now. Instantly buffeted with the cold night wind, he shivered and drew his shirt up a bit to stay warm. Maybe it was the effect of spending so much time with the heatpack named Aphrodi, but lately he had started to lose his resistance to the cold. Turning the corner, his heart leapt at the familiar long-haired figure, then immediately dropped as he saw what had kept his lover from coming to find him directly. A group of girls had surrounded him, chatting him up and preventing him from getting very far. 

“-architectural student?” The conversation drifted over to him as he stood on the side, hesitant. “What are you doing so far in the engineering campus?” The girl’s voice had a coy tone that caused Fubuki’s heart to twist with a pang. 

“I’m here to pick up my boyfriend.” Aphrodi callously answered. He was frustrated that traffic had held him up from getting here quickly. Parking had somehow been a nightmare because of an event that was being held tonight, and now he was late. He didn’t have time to deal with this right now when Fubuki was probably wilting in front of the computer. 

“Oh.” The now-disappointed group of girls slunk away, having thought that they had finally found some good-looking engineering boy to prey on. “I told you he wasn’t straight, his hair is way too nice.” Fubuki caught a snippet of their conversation as they passed by him. Aphrodi’s response had put him at ease, but he couldn’t shake the image of the pretty girls standing next to him. They had looked so perfect together…

“Fubuki!” Aphrodi had almost missed Fubuki, standing quietly in the shadow of the nearby building. “There you are! I’m so sorry I’m late, traffic was horrible and parking was even worse...are you OK?” His lover was so quiet, a shadow was cast across his face. 

“I’m OK, just tired.” Fubuki tried to respond with a reassuring smile. “The schedules were a pain to export and I just want to go home now.” 

“Alright,” Aphrodi reached over and hooked his fingers around Fubuki’s. This much was acceptable. “Let’s go. We have leftovers from yesterday so there’s dinner ready at home, too.” 

Fubuki trailed after Aphrodi who always seemed to lead the way. Always holding himself back, he was still afraid of showing his true colors to his warm lover. He didn’t want to chase him away, he was happy enough as it was already…

\---

The next morning, Fubuki woke up and rolled out of an already half-empty bed. Scratching his back from where the pajama tag had dug into overnight, he briefly entertained sleeping like how Aphrodi did with only his boxers on. The boy had reverted back to that a few weeks ago, but Fubuki would still get cold if he was alone in bed with no clothes on. Today felt warmer than usual though, causing him to think about switching into thinner pajamas soon. 

Musing to himself, he stumbled out into the living room for breakfast to see Aphrodi wearing what might possibly be the skimpiest lounge clothes he’d ever seen. The morning light reflected off of his boyfriend’s tied-up hair, revealing an extremely appealing nape and an overly exposed...everything. 

“Good morning!” Aphrodi piped up with a smile as he looked up from his morning Instagram scroll. Fubuki had to tear his gaze from the mole peeking up at him from Aphrodi’s inner thigh.

“I’m going to take a shower.” He announced, turning back around and hurriedly throwing himself into the bathroom. A cold shower would put some reason back into his head. It was too early in the morning for this. Trying to calm himself down while blasting cold water, he heard a knock on the door. 

“Fubuki, are you alright? Is it too hot out? I wanted to let you know the AC broke down overnight.” Aphrodi’s gentle voice carried through the thrum of the cold shower to him. 

_ Oh. _ That was why it had been so warm. Not out of carnal desire or anything, just a broken AC. Composing himself, he got back out of the shower and changed into more breathable clothes to eat breakfast. He walked back out to the scene of Aphrodi absentmindedly scratching his lower back while checking himself out in his phone camera. All the reason he had managed to scrounge back up in the shower left him immediately. His self control was about to snap. 

“Aphrodi I know it’s hot but...aren’t you cold in that outfit?” Fubuki tried to take the diplomatic route. 

“No? You know I run hot??” Aphrodi finally looked away from his phone and then caught sight of Fubuki’s struggling gaze.  _ Oh.  _ He hadn’t meant to do this, it really had been burning hot in the apartment, but it was always so fun to tease Fubuki. He had had a feeling that the gentle boy had been holding back, and that wolflike gaze was a definite factor in his thoughts. Aphrodi put down his phone and leaned in towards Fubuki, letting his already low tank top drop even lower. 

“Or you can cool me down, my little snow prince,” he teased. 

Fubuki’s self control snapped. Grabbing his provoking lover by the waist, he roughly steered Aphrodi back into the bedroom and then pushed him down with a hungry kiss on the lips. The last thing Aphrodi clearly saw was the look of a predator in Fubuki’s hungry eyes, and he was the prey. 

\---

“I didn’t know you could be so possessive,” Aphrodi gave his lover a kiss on his forehead. He was glad it was the weekend. They didn’t have to separate and go to class anytime soon. 

Fubuki declined to reply, feeling exceptionally embarrassed that he had lost his self control so badly, punctuated by the fact that Aphrodi was now covered in red marks. 

“I didn’t want to show you this side of me…” he finally squeezed out an answer. Aphrodi was playing with Fubuki’s hair, the grey strands were so soft and silky. Smiling, he gave his currently shy lover a kiss on the nose. 

“Well I like every side of you, and sometimes especially this side.” Fubuki blushed in response, then suddenly remembered that he hadn’t eaten breakfast, and now it was already noon…but with his lover clinging onto him like this, he decided to just wait a little longer before climbing out of bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Schedules are basically tables showing how much of each material you’re using and some associated specifications. Ravit would be able to take all the ones used in the drawing and export them all...well theoretically that’s what’s supposed to happen. Usually it just craps out.  
> \---  
> Bar = rebar = reinforced steel bars used in reinforced concrete. Schedules would show how much of each type of bar is to be used.  
> \---  
> Schedule example below:


	14. Week 14 - HW 11: Cost Estimation & Physical Mockup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**  
> 
> 
> Assignment:  
> Civil: Cost estimation package. (Please use RC Means for the current year or scale for cost inflation. Note if scaling was used in submission.)  
> Architectural: Physical diorama mockup.  
> Assignment due next week, electronic submission for civil. Physical mockups to be dropped off at the start of class and will be returned by the end of class. 

The weekend quickly passed, and the two had to reluctantly leave their love nest. A brief stint of cool weather followed through, unseasonably chilly which proved useful due to the broken AC. Their luck ran out by the time the usual class came around, though, as a heat wave rolled in. 

“Aphrodi, are you going to wear that out?” A concerned Fubuki called from where he was checking the printed out plans in the living room. He couldn’t believe that printing on any size other than 8.5x11 could cost so much. This was their entire weekly food budget in one stack of slightly larger paper. 

“YES why? Does it not look good on me?” Aphrodi poked his head through the door frame, surprised by Fubuki commenting on his outfit choices. His lover tended to just ignore him whenever he tried out something new or flashy, so he basically got ignored every day. 

“Mmm…” Fubuki dropped the plans and went over to try and convince Aphrodi to wear something other than the skimpy crop top and shorts. “It looks good on you, but maybe not for today…” He was trying to figure out how to voice the fact that the sheer amount of skin showing meant an appalling amount of marks from last night were extremely visible.

“What about I pick your outfit for today?” He threw in a sideways bid, maybe Aphrodi would take the bait. 

“Babe…” Aphrodi looked at him with eyes of adoration, impressed that his lover would even try. “I love you but your fashion sense sucks.” Sometimes hard truth was needed and this was one of those times. 

“I-wow-ok.” Fubuki hadn’t expected Aphrodi to be this direct about it but he couldn’t even be mad, he was right. “OK just, wear one of your expensive scarves and a jacket or something, I can see...a lot of things from last night.” He blushed at the last statement, it had all been his doing anyways. He should’ve thought a bit farther ahead rather than falling prey to Aphrodi’s charms again. 

Aphrodi laughed, finally catching on to why Fubuki had suddenly taken such interest in his outfit. He was amused by the fact that the charm of his bare skin had managed to get him more attention than any of his expensive outfits.

“Alright, I’ll change, wait for me for a bit.” He started taking off his shorts and Fubuki quickly exited the room, unwilling to be the one that made both of them late. Aphrodi reappeared in the living room shortly afterwards, somehow having found a sleeveless black turtleneck that blended in well with his long white cotton pants. Clipping on a delicate gold necklace, he walked over and gave Fubuki a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“How’s this, modest enough for you?” 

“Good enough for going outside,” Fubuki responded, flustered as he rolled up the plans. “Now let’s go and turn these in.”

\---

“Why did you pick such expensive hardwood?” Fubuki asked in exasperation as he flipped through the RC Means cost estimation book. Their final week of class had just passed and their last assignment was to put together a full estimation package and diorama, then give a presentation during finals week. 

“It is to be a LUXURY apartment building,” Aphrodi responded from where he was kneeling on the ground carefully cutting chipboard. 

“Our costs are going to be three times as high as everyone else’s.” 

“Well we won’t be graded on cost, just accuracy, so it’s fine if I picked materials fit for a luxurious lifestyle.” 

“I’m starting to think that you picked some of these materials out of boredom because they’re really hard to find a unit cost for.” Fubuki flipped back into the index to try to find something for “gold mosaic bathroom tiles”. 

“Luxury is a hard thing to put a firm price tag on-oh!” Aphrodi’s X-Acto blade snapped and he dropped his knife in surprise. “Second blade this week...maybe I’m using it wrong.” He got up to go rifle through the kitchen drawer where he kept his extra blades. Turning around, he was met with a completely rigid Fubuki who was staring at his phone in shock.

“Fubuki, what’s wrong?” He hurriedly dropped the blades he was holding and went back to the dining table. Fubuki’s eyes were scanning the dim phone screen, and then he beamed up a smile at Aphrodi. 

“I got a job offer!” 

“OH!!!” Aphrodi let out a cry of joy and hugged Fubuki excitedly.  _ Fubuki’s first job offer!  _

“We should celebrate! This is so exciting!! Where is it at?”

“We still have to finish the project,” Fubuki protested with a smile, “We don’t have to celebrate today, but it’s an offer from a branch of EGK Consultants.” 

“Oh that’s great, and they do the type of work you’re interested in, too.” Aphrodi replied with relief. “Where is it located?”

“It’s-” Fubuki abruptly stopped, then narrowed his eyes. “I’m not telling you. You haven’t made up your mind on your offers yet and I don’t want you to pick just because it’ll be close to me.”

“WHAT.” Unfortunately, that was exactly what Aphrodi was going to do. He hadn’t thought Fubuki would pick up on this but...his boyfriend was smart like that. Pouting, he sank down on the ground next to his boy and leaned his head onto the side of his lap. 

“So you won’t tell me until I make up my mind on where to go?”

“Yes, and honestly you should decide soon, we’re graduating in less than three weeks.” Fubuki evenly replied. He didn’t want to be the one that held Aphrodi back from where he would thrive the best, and the pretty boy needed some prompting to focus on a major life decision like this. Aphrodi had been avoiding thinking about it, having been caught up in the rush of love. 

“Fine,” Aphrodi sadly replied, “but we’re still going to celebrate, and I’m going to complain to everyone that you won’t tell me.” 

“I’m not going to tell anyone else either if that’s what you were thinking of doing.”

“FINE.” Aphrodi slumped down onto the floor and rolled around pathetically. He’d have to put in some serious thought in the next few days on what career path he wanted to take.  _ This is so difficult...I just want to cuddle with Fubuki forever… _ Moping, he rolled over to where his half assembled architectural model was and then remembered his knife was still on the counter. Debating on whether it was worth it to get up or not, he lay sadly next to the pile of chipboard. Fubuki was watching all of this with mild amusement and got up to bring the knife over to Aphrodi. 

“Here you go, love.” The last word had the desired effect on his drooping lover, who immediately brightened up in response. Fubuki planted a kiss on his head, then got back up to return to the hefty estimation book. 

“Fubuki! I LOVE YOU!” Aphrodi called out from the floor, sound muffled by the chipboard he was currently holding up to the light to check the edges. 

“I know,” Fubuki responded with a smile as he settled back into his chair. 

\---

Aphrodi spent the next few days doing some serious self evaluation which consumed all two brain cells he possessed. Fubuki knew it was serious when Aphrodi wore the same shirt twice in four days. Watching his conflicted lover, he secretly hoped that they’d be able to end up in the same city but that was just a selfish desire. 

The aforementioned Barbie boy was currently struggling between his top two offers. Two companies with very different lines of architectural work: government vs. private. Checking dozens of sites to figure out what each workplace would offer for his career growth, a frazzled Aphrodi was up late once again trying to make his decision. Glancing at the closed bedroom door, he wished he could just quickly pick an offer and then go to bed...but the wrong decision here could set him back quite a bit in his career path. Ruefully tugging on his hair, he went back to reading some architecture blogs to try and figure himself out. 

\---

Fubuki was plating breakfast when he heard the bedroom door bang open. Jumping in surprise, he turned around to see a half-naked bedhead Aphrodi stroll out of the dark room while scratching his stomach. 

“Fubuki!! You left me all alone!” 

Aphrodi being dramatic meant that there was something big that he wanted to share. Putting down the pan with still-sizzling eggs on it, he gave his full attention to his demanding lover. 

“What’s wrong, honey?” Sprinkling in pet names always calmed Aphrodi down much faster than any other tactic.

“I made my decision and signed!” Aphrodi exclaimed with a smile. He gestured over to some scattered papers on the ground that Fubuki had stepped on that morning trying to get to the kitchen. 

“Oh!” Fubuki pretended he totally wasn’t the one who had left a foot-sized indent in the middle of the papers. “Where did you decide on?”

“Featherlight Architecture Firm!” Aphrodi swept off the bed head hair that was still over his face while announcing his decision. “Private contracts!” Fubuki’s heart swelled with pride, knowing that this was the best decision for his lover. Aphrodi loved to push the limits of architectural design, to work with private contracts meant that he’d be free to play with codes and costs to bring out the best designs he could imagine. 

“That’s wonderful,” Fubuki sincerely replied. “Now we can really celebrate! I signed mine the other day, too.” 

“You did?!” Aphrodi was shocked by how swiftly Fubuki moved. “You weren’t going to wait for other offers?”

“No, I’ve always liked that firm and the cultural fit seems good for me.” Fubuki closed the gap between them and enveloped Aphrodi in a warm hug. “I’m so happy for both of us.” 

“Wh-you haven’t even told me where your workplace is!” Aphrodi’s heart was now conflicted, what if they were pulled apart because of their career decisions?!

Fubuki pulled back with a huge smile on his face, eager to deliver the good news.  


“It’s in the same city!” 

Aphrodi was absolutely ecstatic at this, head spinning with how they could continue living together after graduation. Being able to spend each day with his lover, this was more than he could’ve ever imagined graduating with. 

Fubuki held Aphrodi close, happy with relief that they could stay together. He had spent an inordinate amount of time worrying about the potential outcomes of Aphrodi’s decisions but had resolved to support him no matter what. Living together...he had been secretly worried about how he would spend his days or sleep alone again. He was glad this wouldn’t be an issue anymore. 

“Let’s eat breakfast,” Fubuki said softly as he kissed Aphrodi on the lips. “We can talk over what we want to do after graduation before class today.” 

“We should tell everyone our decisions! Maybe over lunch!” Aphrodi wanted to brag to the world about Fubuki’s offer. His boy had kept quiet about it since, not wanting any information to leak back out to Aphrodi. 

“That would be nice, although it might be a bit last minute. Finals week is coming soon so everyone’s probably busy,” Fubuki responded as he guided his lover by the waist to the dining table. “Here, the food is getting cold, let’s eat.” 

Aphrodi could tell when Fubuki wanted to move on from a subject. His lover was still shy after all, and probably didn’t want much attention even from a close group of friends. 

“Alright, but let’s go out to eat tonight,” Aphrodi responded with a smile as he brushed aside some stray hairs from Fubuki’s ear. “We should still celebrate with just the two of us.” 

Fubuki’s eyes softened in response and he nodded with a smile. He’d be careful not to ogle any uniforms tonight, lest he accidentally rile up his jealous lover. Letting go, he went back to dump the now-overcooked eggs onto the two plates and brought them over to the dining table. Aphrodi watched happily, starving after using all his brain power last night and also excited to see this view over and over again for a long time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RC Means references this one specific standard cost estimation book that has good ballpark costs for the unit cost of construction work. Like if you wanted to know how much it would cost to get XXX CY of concrete poured for a gas station but didn’t want to talk to people you can check the book. Useful to put together a very rough cost estimation for a project.  
> \---  
> I picked EGK Consultants in reference to the Break Trio: Endou Gouenji Kidou. You may ask, why not just name it Break Trio Consultants? That’s just simply not how it’s done. It must be letters put together that make no sense!


	15. Week 15: Presentation & Submittal Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**  
> 
> 
> Assignment: Formal design package submittal, Powerpoint, and in-class presentation, due during final exam time slot next week. Presentation order will be random. Email the presentation in before class. We will be using my computer to present.  
> Design package to be submitted SPIRAL BOUND, printed. Must follow indices example on the course site.  
> Note: No class this week, revision week before exams. Email me with any questions, I will not be holding in-person office hours. 

The calm before the storm was here. Revision week, where students had ample time to study or cry right before final exam week hit. To add insult to injury, the weather was unusually good with brisk winds and sunny days while everyone was stuck inside preparing for exams or finishing projects.

“What times are you free this week?” Aphrodi asked Fubuki as he lay on the floor while scrolling through his phone. Fubuki looked down from the dining table at his boyfriend curiously. They tended to know each other’s schedules so a question like this was unexpected.

“It’s revision week so there’s no class...is that what you’re asking about?” Fubuki queried.

“Yeah, but you still have review sessions, right?” Aphrodi only had one final exam and the rest were projects. Fubuki had three final exams and the Course 119 project, so he was spread more thin throughout the week. The stress was reflected in the deep bags under his eyes and his definitely wilting hair tufts. Aphrodi had concluded that they really did wilt under stress, it wasn’t just his imagination. 

“Yeah, I mean how much time do you need from me? What is this for?” Fubuki was getting suspicious now with how roundabout Aphrodi was acting.

“I want ALL your time,” Aphrodi clarified, “But I was hoping...could we take grad photos together?” Aphrodi turned on the puppy eyes to the max, knowing full well Fubuki preferred to avoid the camera under normal circumstances. He had just discovered that Kidou, who normally did photography as a hobby, was willing to take grad photos for them. Aphrodi felt like this was a prime opportunity to take some good photos for the future (and for his phone wallpaper options). In front of a friend who knew of their relationship, his boyfriend would hopefully be less shy. Maybe let him take a kiss photo…

“Oh. I hadn’t thought about that…” Fubuki had been so overwhelmed with work that graduation traditions were the farthest thing from his mind. He couldn’t even remember if he had a grad gown ordered or not. He had a feeling he had...not. 

“Uh. I think I forgot to order my grad gown.” 

“You WHAT.” Aphrodi rolled over onto his back in shock as he stared at his boyfriend. “How did you forget? We got like a million emails!”

“Well…” Fubuki averted his eyes, “remember how I have a lot of unread emails….”

“Oh my god. Graduation is in two weeks! They might not even have your size anymore! You’re so small…”

“Excuse me?” Fubuki had never directly been called short before, this was a first. “Well, it’s not like I was planning to go to graduation anyways, maybe we can just borrow someone’s. _If_ I decide to take a grad photo.” 

“WHAT. NOT GOING TO GRADUATION?” Aphrodi had now rolled onto his side in shock to better stare at his stupid lover. “AFTER ALL THIS HARD WORK YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GRADUATION?”

“There’s not really a point and I’ll be so tired!” Fubuki protested, then added in a quiet voice, “It’s not like I have anyone who will come see me graduate anyways…” He thought of his long-gone family with a pang in his heart.

“I’ll be right there to see you graduate even if we’re in different departments!” Aphrodi protested. He pushed himself upright then reached out and held his lover’s hand. Squeezing it gently, he smiled up at Fubuki.

“I’ll be your family there, Fubuki.”

That familiar pang in his heart was gone now, replaced with warmth as he looked into those crimson eyes filled with sincerity. Biting his lip, he hurriedly looked away before he lost himself and cried in front of Aphrodi. To his merit, Aphrodi didn’t say anything and quietly rubbed Fubuki’s hand with his thumb, comforting him. He was glad he had brought this up, not knowing that Fubuki had been planning to avoid the entire day and spend it alone. Silence settled down gently between the two, until Aphrodi suddenly remembered something very important.

“Oh no, Fubuki, graduation tickets!” 

“Oh shit.” Fubuki scrambled for his laptop, pulling it close to dive into the sea of unread emails for graduation information. Now that he was attending, this week was suddenly much busier with sourcing a proper gown and figuring out tickets. 

“Wait, how about for your graduation? Since it’s a different department will I need a ticket for you, too?” Fubuki realized the logistics problem that was now at play. Since the school was so large, each department had their own ceremony at different times. To attend Aphrodi’s, he’d need to know the time and also get a ticket on short notice. 

“Already on it,” Aphrodi replied as he let go of Fubuki’s hand and rapidly swiped through his phone. “I’ll forward you the email with commencement details, it should all be in there. And I’ll get you a ticket too, don’t worry.” Fubuki wasn’t sure what type of black market Aphrodi was trading tickets on but he trusted his boy to get things done. 

“So about the grad pics,” Aphrodi continued eagerly, “It’ll be Kidou who’s taking the photos for us, when would you have time for that?” 

“I haven’t even agreed to it!” 

“Pleaseeeeeeee!” 

_Oh those eyes again._

Fubuki sighed, then gave in. He was so weak to Aphrodi. 

“Alright, but I won’t be able to get a gown in time. We’d have to borrow someone else’s. The only free time I have for something like that would be at the start of the week, I think Tuesday afternoon.” 

“That’s fine! Let me arrange it all,” Aphrodi eagerly responded as he typed even faster on his phone. He’d make this work no matter what, including strong-arming Kidou if needed. Tuesday couldn’t come any sooner.

\---

“Kidou! Over here!” Aphrodi called out with a wave as he spotted the familiar goggles-wearing caped classmate wandering around the glade. Laden with photography equipment, Kidou carefully made his way over to them. 

“Morning,” he greeted them with a yawn. 

“Kidou, it’s 2PM.” Fubuki replied with concern. The sun was bright in the sky, not the best time for taking grad pics but it was the only time that worked between the three of them. 

“My bad, I’ve lost track of time since revision week started,” Kidou wearily responded. “How are you guys doing with the project?” 

“We’re about finished with the Powerpoint presentation, but still compiling everything for the submittal.” Fubuki reached over and took one of the tote bags from Kidou’s arm. This one contained Kidou’s grad gown which Fubuki would be borrowing for the photoshoot. 

“Tell me about it, I can’t find a place that’ll do spiral bound under $20 to save my life.” Kidou lamented as he set down the rest of his equipment. Aphrodi fussed over Fubuki who was trying to put the gown on. Pulling it over himself, Fubuki felt like a glorified black trash bag. 

“I don’t know how anyone makes this look good…” Fubuki sadly observed himself in a nearby window reflection. Kidou was also taller than him which didn’t help. The hem of his gown crumpled on top of his shoes making him seem like a sort of dwarf wizard reject. He looked back from his reflection to see that Aphrodi had also finished pulling on his gown and somehow looked flawless in it.

“Did you two buy the same gown?” Fubuki asked, suspicious that maybe Aphrodi had somehow gotten his hands on a couture version. Aphrodi was clipping on some more jewelry that had appeared from a small pouch. Noticing Fubuki’s gaze, he smiled and held it out towards his lover.

“I brought some extra if you want to use them?” 

“Yeah, it’s the same gown, I can see the price tag still stuck on Aphrodi’s.” Kidou wryly commented as he watched the little white tag flap in the wind. 

“I’m fine, Aphrodi.” Fubuki turned down the offer of mysterious jewelry and focused on trying to hike the collar up so his gown didn’t look so short on him. Putting on the cap was a more arduous process, involving a copious amount of bobby pins and some occasional swearing when the pins were poked in at a bad angle. 

“OK, now I’ll just never move my head,” Fubuki spoke through gritted teeth after their third final and successful attempt of making the cap stick on his fluffy hair. 

“You’ll be alright,” Aphrodi responded while trying to suppress his laughter. “It’s so secure you could probably bike with it on and it’ll still stay.” 

Fubuki ruefully looked up at him but still didn’t move his head. Only his disappointed gaze followed Aphrodi around. With some prompting from Kidou, the two lovebirds packed up the rest of their belongings and went around campus to some good photo locations. Aphrodi had been highly opinionated on this topic, compiling a list of locations that he wanted to take photos with Fubuki at. Fubuki had focused on making sure they had the shortest path between each location to not waste too much time. 

Walking through campus with his lover, Fubuki felt drab next to Aphrodi who was practically glowing. Long golden hair sweeping past his shoulder and falling to his waist, the slimness of his figure was accented by the gold jewelry that he had put on earlier over the sleek black gown. Fubuki couldn't understand how Aphrodi didn’t notice all the strangers ogling him as they walked by to their next location. Hesitating, he reached over and then caught Aphrodi’s hand. _He’s mine!_ He wanted to declare out loud, but this would do for now. 

Aphrodi almost tripped when Fubuki suddenly held his hand. Unsure of what brought this on, he glanced over to see Fubuki giving him a shy glance. Tightening his grip on his lover’s hand, Aphrodi nearly skipped with joy. Luckily, Kidou was too far back to see this entire interaction as they rounded the corner to their final photoshoot location. Tucked away on the side of the campus was a quaint wooden cabin with a flourishing garden. It was preserved from before the university had bloomed around it and was used as an administration office now. Aphrodi had picked this location for a special reason, but also because the background was beautiful with the sun filtering gently between the lush tree branches overhead. No matter what time of the day, any photo taken here would turn out gorgeous. He glanced back at Fubuki who was admiring the scenery.

Normally, Fubuki kept to the engineering wing of the campus. A lot of the locations today had been new to him, despite having spent four years on this campus. Walking around the garden, his soles tapped on worn stones that had been set into the ground to create a natural path. Leaves brushed against his gown and he ran a hand through some particularly dense fronds. 

“It’s lovely here,” he commented as he leaned in to look at some bright pink azaleas. 

“I thought you’d like it, it’s secluded too. I used to come sit on this bench to get some peace and quiet when things got too busy in my life,” Aphrodi patted the worn wooden bench that he was now perched on. Fubuki went over and sat down next to Aphrodi, tracing the rings of the wood as he thought about how Aphrodi must have spent his time here, relaxing for a rare moment in his busy life. 

Kidou had finished setting down his equipment in the distance. Holding his camera, he came down the stone path to take the last few photos for the day. He stopped before getting too close, realizing that the two of them were deep in conversation with each other. He started taking some candid pictures, as the smile on Fubuki’s face was more genuine than any he had seen so far. Satisfied that he had taken enough candids, Kidou lowered his camera to ask the couple if they had any requests. In that moment, Aphrodi gave a soft laugh - a reaction to some small remark shared between lovers. Kidou instinctively lifted his camera to ready himself for a possible photo just in time to capture Fubuki leaning forward and initiating a rare kiss onto Aphrodi’s lips. 

“Oh! Kidou!” Embarrassed, Fubuki pulled back in surprise when he heard the stone click below the caped boy’s feet. Aphrodi looked over, wondering when his classmate had gotten so close. 

“Don’t worry about me,” he called back to them. “Just let me know if you want a certain pose or something.” Smiling to himself, he knew that he had already taken the best photo of the day already. 

Aphrodi suggested a few more, but Fubuki was flustered after being caught giving a kiss in public. They ended up with a few more modest photos and Aphrodi managed to sneak one in of him giving Fubuki a kiss on the forehead. Disappointed that they couldn’t get a direct kiss photo in, Aphrodi tried to convince Fubuki for one, but the boy promptly took off his grad cap. That quickly ended the entire photoshoot. The whole point of him picking the secluded glade was ruined.

“Don’t be too sad,” Kidou whispered to a despondent Aphrodi as they let Fubuki struggle out of the gown alone at a distance. “I did get a kiss photo of you two.”

Aphrodi’s shocked response was hurriedly stopped by Kidou clapping his hand over Aphrodi’s mouth.

“Let me go back and send you a copy so Fubuki doesn’t make me delete it on the spot.” Kidou muttered. 

“Kidou you...you’re a god amongst men,” Aphrodi responded in a teary whisper. He wasn’t sure when that photo had happened as he had been too engrossed in Fubuki all day, but he wholeheartedly believed in Kidou’s claims. Clapping a hand on Kidou’s shoulder, he nodded gratefully, mentally making a note to ship him a case of beer shortly after this. 

“Kidou here, thank you, I hope I didn’t get it too dirty,” Fubuki walked over with the gown and cap now neatly packed back into the tote bag. “Thanks for today and for lending me your gown. Mines won’t get here until finals week.”

“No problem, I’ll send you guys the photos after I edit them a bit,” Kidou responded as he took the bag back. “Good luck on your finals, and let me know if you guys find a cheap spiral bound place.” 

“You’d probably be the first one to find it,” Aphrodi wryly responded, “You and Kazemaru are always on top of things. He’ll probably find one tomorrow or something.” 

“You’re right. Well either way, whoever finds out first, let the other know!” 

With that, Kidou bid farewell to them and headed back across campus to where he had parked his car. Aphrodi quickly shed his cap and gown, then stuffed them into the plastic grocery bag he had been using and eagerly latched his arm around Fubuki’s.

“Now that we’re done with that, want to go home and eat dinner?”

\---

Aphrodi smiled as he checked the files that Kidou had sent both of them a few days later with his laptop precariously propped on his knees. Fubuki hadn’t looked at them yet, busy studying again at the dining table. He clicked through the typical pictures: standing in front of the library steps, engineering benches, nice background buildings…. He suddenly stopped when he got to the photos from the cabin garden. Squinting, he didn’t remember when he had asked Kidou to take the first few of these. Fubuki looked so happy and natural in them, and they seemed to have been taken in sequence. Enlarging one and then carefully clicking through the pictures, he almost lost control and dropped his laptop on the ground when he reached the picture of Fubuki kissing him. Breath catching, he hurriedly downloaded it, then surreptitiously changed his phone background. 

“Fubuki~” He glanced over to his lover who had gotten up to take a break from the books scattered in front of him. Fubuki came over, curious as to what Aphrodi wanted from him. 

“Kidou sent us the photos!”

“Oh!” Fubuki squatted down on the ground next to him to take a look at the photos. He had forgotten about most of them, but had secretly hoped to get some good photos of Aphrodi. Ones that were taken just for him. Aphrodi smiled, then turned his screen to show Fubuki the candid photo, watching his lover go stock-still in surprise. 

“What! When did he take this!”

“I guess it was a candid,” Aphrodi laughed as he reached over and linked his fingers with Fubuki’s on the cold floor. “But I love it so much, I love you, Fubuki.” He gave his blushing lover a peck on the cheek. Fubuki was at a loss of words, but seeing how happy his lover was he acquiesced, knowing that Kidou was someone who could keep secrets and would properly safe keep this photo. 

“Fine,” he responded softly as Aphrodi put his laptop down onto the ground then peppered Fubuki with kisses, making the two devolve into laughter. A bright spot in an otherwise stressful week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Graduation tickets are just to keep the attendance under the maximum capacity, so that one person with a family of 20 people is going to have to pay more than someone with 1 friend. However tickets do sell/cap out so that's why they're both scrambling to find some leftover tickets.  
> \---  
> Spiral bound is this magic:
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Annoyingly hard to find a place that does this plastic loopy strip for cheap. Wish professors would just accept binders like normal people.


	16. Week 16: Final Presentations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Course 119**  
>  Assignment: Final presentation in class.  
> Happy graduation to those of you who are graduating! Congratulations for finishing the course!
> 
>   
> 

Finals week came in a rushed frenzy. Fubuki and Aphrodi barely had time to greet each other as they fully entrenched themselves in last minute cramming and project delivery. Each night was spent with one of them falling asleep in bed first and the other crawling in later to pass out. Hurriedly meeting up before the Course 119 final, the two of them flipped through the submittal package to do a final check. 

“I think we’re alright, I checked last night.” Fubuki assured Aphrodi as the frazzled blonde triple-checked the page indices. 

“Alright, alright.” Aphrodi replied as he exchanged the spiral bound booklet with the diorama Fubuki had been balancing on his hands. “Let’s go turn these in, I never want to see any of this again.” 

“We still have the presentation,” Fubuki wryly replied as they got ready to go into the classroom. Entering the room, he saw that Endou and Rococo had already arrived and were haphazardly whiting out certain page indices. Unsurprisingly, Kazemaru and Kidou were already settled with a flawless package assembled on their table. Fubuki liked to hope that their group was somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, hopefully leaning towards the more organized side. Chatter floated through the room as last minute changes were made or presentations were discussed. 

“You emailed in the presentation right?” Aphrodi asked anxiously as he readjusted some trees in front of the diorama.

“Yes babe, I CC’d you,” Fubuki patiently replied.

“Thank you, I haven’t been checking my phone much-” Aphrodi was cut off before he could explain more as Hitomiko entered the room. 

“Pass your projects into the appropriately marked spots!” She announced as she placed a box labeled “submittals” on the table. There was a sign taped to the long table that said “dioramas”. Splitting off from each other, the civil and architecture students turned in their respective portions of the arduous project. Once they had finished, Hitomiko nodded in approval then pulled out a small box where group names had been placed in before class. Reaching in, she pulled out a random slip of paper and lifted it up to announce the name of the first presentation group.

“The first to go will be-!”

\---

“WE’RE DONE! FOREVER!” Endou shouted as they spilled out from their last final exam time slot of the day. Luckily between the six of them, Course 119’s time slot was the last one they all had. Upon finding this out, Aphrodi had quickly scheduled a celebration dinner at a nearby restaurant for the night. The sun was already setting as the group made their way across campus, laughing and chatting with each other as the stress of four years lifted from their shoulders. 

“Your design was so interesting,” Kidou commented to Endou as they navigated the steep sidewalk, “The usage of supported glass was quite novel.” 

“That was Rococo’s idea!” Endou replied with a huge smile as he clapped his gentle giant of a partner on the back. “He saw a design like that back in his home country and wanted to replicate it in our project.” Rococo gave a shy smile in response. It had been a challenging design to work with but the final product had paid off. 

“We’re here!” Aphrodi called back to them as they piled to a stop in front of the restaurant. Under Fubuki’s suggestion he had found one that fell within a “normal student budget” and had called ahead to make a reservation for a large group. They were all quickly seated and orders were taken and delivered in a short amount of time. 

“Where is everyone going after this?” Rococo asked, curious as to the destinations of all the graduates around him. “I accepted an offer at a nearby architectural firm that specializes in government contracts: LG2 Firms.” 

“Ah that’s a good place!” Aphrodi was glad for his friend, government work suited Rococo who was like a walking code book at this point. “I’ll be going to Featherlight Architectural Firm, private work.” 

“That’s just like you,” Kazemaru smiled as he raised a glass in acknowledgement. “I’ll be working in inspection services, direct government contract work.” Everyone looked at Kazemaru in surprise, no one voicing the thought that was in their heads. That maybe Kazemaru would finally reveal both his eyes to work on inspections.

“Maybe you’ll inspect some of our work one day, Kazemaru,” Fubuki noted with a smile. It was a small industry after all. “I’ll be going to EKG Consultants, design work.” 

“Me too!” Kidou wasn’t surprised that Fubuki had gotten such a coveted job offer. His friend was top of class, too. “When are you starting, Fubuki? I’ll be starting in July after a short break to move.”

“August for me. In the meantime, we’ll be searching for a place to move before his lease is up at the end of June.” Fubuki gestured over at Aphrodi who gave a very self-satisfied smile in response. 

“Oh congrats! We’ll also be moving in together after graduation,” Endou pulled Rococo into a one-armed hug around the shoulders. “And I signed on with Kidou Construction Corp.” Kidou spit out his drink at that statement, not knowing that his father’s company had offered Endou a job. He had secretly been worried for Endou, but was glad he hadn’t had to pull any strings after all. 

“‘Kidou’….” Aphrodi looked over in confusion at the goggled boy who was wiping off his face, “Kidou, is that company related to you?” 

“You didn’t know?” Fubuki asked in surprise, he had thought that Aphrodi knew everyone’s personal information at this point. “His dad is the owner of that construction company!” 

“I thought it was a coincidence this whole time!” Aphrodi replied wide-eyed as he sipped on his water. “How come you didn’t go to work there?”

“My dad’s company focuses more on construction than design, and I wanted to work somewhere unrelated to my name for a while,” Kidou sighed as he replied to this question for what seemed like the hundredth time already. 

“Looks like we’re all going to good companies,” Kazemaru remarked with a smile. Watching Kidou’s discomfort was always amusing. “All that’s left for us is the graduation ceremony.” 

“That’s next week, huh, it feels like it’s been such a short period of time but we’re all graduating now,” Endou mused from his end of the table. Rococo leaned over and gave his hand a soft squeeze. He, for one, was glad that this course had happened even if they had all been forced into it. 

“The last semester always feels so long and short at the same time,” Aphrodi agreed with a laugh. “After we’re all graduated, I’m sure we’ll all keep in touch.” Without looking, his hand found Fubuki’s and grasped it tight. 

“Of course!” Endou smiled as he raised his glass as he gazed around the table of friends, old and new. For tonight, they’d chat, celebrate, and reminisce about the past few years, so fleeting now that they were gone. Soon, a new chapter would open up in their lives. 

“Aren’t we forgetting something?” Kidou interjected as the group fell silent to dig into their meals. The tired seniors at the table looked at him, puzzled, as he raised his glass with a smile. Understanding his cue, all of them raised their glasses to his as he spoke. 

“Congratulations to all of us for making it out alive and graduating!”

\---

The sky was sprinkled with clouds and a full moon as Aphrodi and Fubuki walked back to their home, hand in hand. Aphrodi had been appointed the designated driver, and after dropping off everyone at their respective places, it was already nearing midnight. He glanced over at his lover, moonlight reflecting off of silver hair and long lashes. Fubuki was staring up at the moon, thinking about how much had happened over the last semester, how much happier he was now. 

“What’s on your mind?” Aphrodi leaned in to Fubuki, knowing that his lover was deep in thought. 

“Just thinking,” Fubuki softly replied, “About how if I hadn’t taken this required course, I might never have met you.” 

“Then it’s a good thing it was required then, right?” Aphrodi responded with a teasing smile. He reached over and brushed aside some stray hairs and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. To his surprise, Fubuki leaned in and held it for a moment, then broke off and continued walking at Aphrodi’s side, swinging their clasped hands gently through the chilly air. 

“It’s the best thing I could graduate with,” Fubuki responded with a smile as he stepped forward, pulling Aphrodi along the sidewalk path.

“Let’s go home.” He called back over his shoulder, leading the way. 

Aphrodi’s heart leapt as he followed his lover along the moonlit path. Tomorrow would be another day, another year. They might go through even more hardships and difficulties, but he knew that with Fubuki by his side, there was nothing that could tear them apart. Not after a group project like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LG2 stands for Little Gigant!


	17. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 10 years later

\---[Featherlight Architectural Firm]---

Aphrodi was hurrying through the office, having come back late from yet another accursed meeting that was supposed to stop at noon but definitely had not. Despite his angry yet elegant huffs, they had run overtime by ten minutes and now he was late. Grabbing his blazer from the coat rack, he shrugged it on while trying to check his personal phone at the same time to send some rapid apology texts. Unlocking it with a quick swipe of his finger, he still felt his heart melt upon seeing his phone wallpaper. Taken almost ten years ago now, Aphrodi had never changed that first candid photo of Fubuki kissing him in that garden. Banging through the frosted glass doors, he almost knocked over the new hire that had been walking past with some plans under his arms.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, Kishibe!” Aphrodi helped pick up the scattered plans from the ground and shoved them back into the confused youth’s hands. “I’m late for a lunch meeting, I didn’t see you there.”

“That’s alright,” Kishibe greeted a slightly frazzled Aphrodi, shown by the stray hairs that had slipped free from his perfect ponytail. Aphrodi was one of the top architects in this agency and Kishibe greatly admired his novel designs that pushed the limits of how materials could be used. It had been a large deciding factor in him choosing to join this firm. 

“You don’t have a lunchbox today?” Kishibe asked in surprise. Aphrodi was known for his lavish lunch boxes that he guarded with his life. Everyone knew he was married due to the ring on his finger, but to who remained a mystery. It seemed like his partner was the more subdued type who preferred to avoid the limelight. Whoever they were was quite lucky and probably also had the patience of a saint. 

“No, no, not today, I have a meeting with EKG Consultants for the new school building,” Aphrodi responded, distracted as his phone buzzed indicating a text reply. “I did see your design work the other day, Kishibe, it was quite nice.” 

“O-oh! Thank you!” Unsure of how to respond to this random compliment, Kishibe blushed in surprise that his design icon had noticed the small CAT work he had done. 

“I’m sorry, I really have to go now,” Aphrodi didn’t know why he was apologizing to Kishibe, but if he was any later he’d be in big trouble. “I’ll see you around after lunch!” With that he flew straight to the stairs, not even bothering to use the elevator now. Kishibe was left with mismatched plans in his hands, still scattered after the fall. Smiling to himself, he bent down and picked up a few more stray papers and headed back to his desk to sort them out. 

\---[EKG Consultants]---

“Don’t you have a lunch meeting scheduled right now?” 

Fubuki looked up to see the new recruit looking over at him from against the cubicle wall. He had been asked by Yukimura to come take a look at the boy’s recent structural analysis as some errors had been printed out. With his own computer on the side, he had forgotten his email reminders would pop up for Yukimura to accidentally read.

“Ah, that’s alright, he’s going to be late.” Fubuki dismissed the notification then turned back to check the program parameters. Yukimura looked on with surprise. Normally extremely serious and timely, Fubuki seemed to not care at all that he had just dismissed an important meeting with the Featherlight Firm. 

“If it’s for my problem, it can wait for after lunch!” Yukimura hurriedly tried to convince Fubuki to go. The glint of a wedding ring flashed in the sun as Fubuki waved his hand at him, catching Yukimura’s eye. Fubuki was tight-lipped about his personal life and Kidou was the only one in the firm who knew who his partner was. Evidenced by when they’d go out for lunch together during days when Fubuki looked particularly harassed. 

“It’ll be alright, I know him well. He always schedules things too tightly.” 

“You mean Aphrodi? That famous architect?” Everyone had heard of his name by now, a popular architect who was beautiful as well. He often appeared in magazine covers and articles with some new innovative design. 

“Yeah, him.” Fubuki continued clicking through the boxes with furrowed brows. He had ran into this issue a long time ago, back when he was working on that cursed group project….

Yukimura watched his mentor with slight trepidation. _Who was he to just dismiss a famous architect like that?_ Fubuki’s designs were always solid with strong structural calculations to back them up. Yukimura hoped to be able to reach that level of structural design someday, but with how his analysis was looking it was still a long way’s off. A string of buzzes suddenly cut through the tense cubicle. Fubuki stood up and pulled his personal phone out, checking who had sent them. 

“Ah. Seems like he’s finally ready for lunch, I’m sorry, Yukimura, but I’ll be heading out now. I think I fixed the problem, though, so run it over lunch and I’ll get back to you afterwards to check it.” Fubuki reached over and retrieved his sleek work laptop, then picked up the jacket that had been folded over the side of the cubicle and draped it over his shoulder as he headed out.

“Oh, ok!” Yukimura was confused as to how a text from Fubuki's personal phone had anything to do with the lunch meeting...unless they knew each other personally?! Musing over this, he sat down to run the analysis. Fubuki had looked through it which meant it should run fine now….

\---

“Fubuki! I’m sorry!” Aphrodi seemed to land in the seat across from Fubuki at the restaurant. More wisps of hair had escaped from his ponytail and now clung to his slightly sweaty face. 

“Did you bike here?” Fubuki asked in amusement, noticing the handlebar indentations on Aphrodi’s palms. He had only gotten here about five minutes before Aphrodi, enough time to grab a seat for the two of them. 

“Yeah, and I didn’t fall this time,” Aphrodi proudly responded. It was his classic response, even though it had been years since he had last fallen off a bike in front of Fubuki. 

“That’s good.” 

The waiter came at this time to take their orders, both of them ordering without even looking at the menu. This was a restaurant they came to often. Located at a good halfway point between their offices, it was a prime location for “lunch meetings”. 

“I’ll put it on my company card this time,” Fubuki pulled a slim card out of his wallet and passed it over to the waiter. He’d have to pay before the end of the meal or else Aphrodi would expense it himself again. 

“Fineeee,” Aphrodi pretended to protest, but he couldn’t make himself look angry at his lover. Reaching over, he stroked the matching wedding ring on Fubuki’s finger as he thought back to how they had first met. Fubuki pulled back his hand and swatted at Aphrodi’s delicate fingers. 

“Remember, this is a work meeting.” 

“Boring, we can enjoy ourselves now and talk about it later tonight at home.” 

“I can’t bluff my way out of not having anything get done at a work meeting, unlike you,” Fubuki responded wryly. Last time they had tried that both offices had gotten very different design updates the next week. It had taken a lot of overtime to fix all of that, including begging Kidou for some supporting help (luckily, he was still pliable to food bribes). 

“Alright, alright.” Aphrodi started to reach over for the plans in his shoulder bag, but his hands grasped thin air. Thinking back to when he had bumped into Kishibe, he suddenly remembered how he had accidentally shoved all the plans to the ground...and maybe the ones in his bag had dropped at the same time...

“Oh...oh no, Fubuki….” 

Fubuki looked up at him sharply, already knowing that Aphrodi had done something wrong with how he was playing with the ends of his ponytail. 

“Do you want to schedule a dinner work meeting?” His husband threw him a hopefully winning smile, as Fubuki facepalmed in response. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading this! I appreciate that despite being a very niche AU and rarepair others enjoyed it. I hope everyone learned something in this fic (edutainment!) and maybe learned that they love afufubu (my real goal). 
> 
> The title is based off of a very familiar graph to materials engineers: [ Stress-Strain curves](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress%E2%80%93strain_curve)
> 
> This fic was absolutely cathartic to write, because I don't love myself and actually took 3 capstone courses back in the day (woo!). It's a very accurate rendition of what happens in them and how everyone and everything is held together by free food, duct tape, and some string. 
> 
> Come find me on [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/kuroekoo) to watch me just make everything afufubu I guess. Until then, see you in my next fic! (It's afufubu.)


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